Ranma One Half: Sadness and Hatred
by Justin Hollydale
Summary: Book 4 Final book up, I hope you like the ending. Ranma gets captured and needs to be saved. Plus a final battle with the rebuilt Justice.
1. SandH010103

Ranma 1/2 & Guilty Gear X/XX  
  
Sorrow and Hatred  
  
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I own none of these characters, I am just a humble  
  
writer with an idea.  
  
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Book 1  
  
Chapter 1  
  
He woke with the sun shining in his face, cutting a path through the closed slats of the shading the device that was not doing the job it was assigned to do. This job was to keep the sun out and allow him to sleep in peace instead of being rudely awoken by the bright light of the day. It did not use to be like this, he use to get up early and practice before school. Those days were over with though, and they would never come again, he had dreamed the destiny of the town and not even realized it. Destruction, chaos, death, that was all that was left for him now. Pain with every waking day and just wanting to die. He was young yet, only twenty-three but he was wishing for death because he had nothing to live for. For some reason he just could not die, he tried to jump from a building once but he landed on a ledge about halfway down. When he tried it again he tripped and knocked himself out on the way up the stairs.  
  
He woke up in a hospital that time and realized that he would not be allowed to die yet, so now all he had was pain. Rising from the mattress that lay on the floor he leaned his neck to each side once causing it to crack. He picked up his clothes and put them on, nothing special, he use to wear a red Chinese shirt with black loose pants. That was a long time ago though, very different from the black shirt and black pants that were still a little loose but not like his old ones. His hair was still long and done up in the braided pony-tail that he had become accustomed to. He was tall, about six foot nothing and he had the build of an excellent martial-artist. Because he was one.  
  
He walked over to the sink and brushed his teeth and combed his hair as best he could to get rid of some of the unruliness. He then walked out the door and into what was now his life, it was clear and sunny out, everything looked brighter than usual with the light being reflected back into his eye. Since Japan had been destroyed he had lost most of the people he cared about, his attitude had been getting worse and worse. Even on a day like this he did not feel joy in his life. The world was a desolate wasteland after the Gears came and destroyed everything in their path. All the surviving Japanese had been put in "Colonies", he had been put there and had not caused trouble until he had realized what the "Colonies" were used for. Essentially it was a concentration camp.  
  
With all of the security he expected it to be difficult but it was very easy for him to leave that place. All he did was knock out a few guards and steal the key to the main gate, the only hard part had come when he had come across the security system at the front gate. Not only did you need a key but a DNA card with your DNA loaded in it. That he had to get by backtracking and finding a guard that was on the other side of the base then he had to make his way back to the gate and make his escape before the guards he had knocked out were found.  
  
Now he was living free of the "Colonies" but in a little hut in the middle of the woods that had little chance of being found. Until this day, he was out taking a walk and looking for supplies for the coming months when he found her. Laying in a heap with bruises covering her body and a woman in red standing over her with a guitar that was poised to smash down like a hammer on the fallen girl. He was unaware of what had transpired or why there was a girl laying on the ground like this but he had his doubts about the girl on the ground   
  
starting the fight. He was good at reading people, that was the secret to his martial arts style. That and the fact that he could defeat anyone if he got them into the air.  
  
Quickly he scooped up a rock and hurled it at the girl with the guitar. Granted it was rather unorthodox but he was not sure he wanted to let this girl know that he was as powerful as he was. In any case it had the desired effect, for after it hit the woman, she turned only to see a roundhouse kick coming towards her. The speed at which it had happened did not allow her to get her guard up in time and she was sent flying away into a tree. She still had a hold on her guitar which he suspected was more than just a mere musical instrument.  
  
The woman in red got up quickly, a lot quicker than Ranma liked, and smiled evilly at him. She plucked a string from her guitar and sent a beam of electricity lancing towards him. He leapt over it and tried for a jumping kick only to be met by a downward swing from the unorthodox weapon the woman held. Righting himself in mid-air he landed in a fighting stance and waited for the woman to attack. When she stood their and stared at him, he knew that she suspected he was holding his power back. Fine, he would oblige her, if she wanted to see his power then he would show it to her.  
  
"Moka Takabisha!"  
  
A huge ball of energy leapt from his hands unhindered and made its way towards the woman. It was not his most powerful blast because he wanted energy for any fighting that would come afterwards. The girl managed to block the attack and readied herself for a retaliatory move on the man. As the woman played, a path of red traced through the air in a pattern that Ranma could not discern clearly. Then balls formed out of nowhere and floated through the air toward him. Realizing what was happening, he threw up his arms and made an attempt to block the attack. For the must part he was successful but the hits had taken a lot out of him.  
  
There was one last thing to try, and there was no guarantee that it would work. If he could use the heat from this woman's body for the Hiryu Shouten Ha then he would be able to at least get her away from here. This would also prevent him from getting worn out from using his energy because it needed mostly his opponents heat.  
  
He needed to first taunt the woman into moving towards him, this proved easier than expected. He was good at insulting people and this woman did not like to be insulted. As she rushed towards him, he drew her in a inward spiral pattern while turning his soul to ice. As he threw a fist into the air, the hot mixed with the cold in a spiral tempest that sent the woman flying high into the air. She would eventually land hard but he planned on being gone with the girl that was being attacked before that happened.  
  
Walking over to the body he picked her up and made his way back to his small house. There he tended to her wounds and made sure she was comfortable. It was not a long time before the girl woke up, he was in the kitchen when she woke and was already up by the time he came back. She was limping a little from her leg and he quickly stopped what he was doing to force her to lay back down. She struggled only slightly, as he shoved her back to the sitting position on the couch he had put her on. He explained quickly that it was only to help her leg heal the right way so she was not permanently disabled by it.  
  
She only nodded silently at his explanation and he went back to making himself something to eat. He had not expected her to be up so soon in all honesty. The wounds she suffered where not that bad, except for the broken leg, but there were many of them. It had obviously been late in the fight, if it could be called that, when he had broke it up. He looked down sadly at the food he was preparing, he could live with the hunger, he had done it many times before. Walking back out to the room where the girl was sitting up on the couch with her legs stretched across its length, he put the bowl down on the table next to her and silently walked away.  
  
He was gone for some time, and the girl could hear him working on something outside. It was a good hour before he came back, and he held a primitive wood crutch in his hands. She followed his silent movements as he quickly moved over to where she was sitting. He placed them next to her and went back outside to do his own thing for a while. She could hear him grunting and the sound of something striking wood and then the wood straining under the hit. She sat and listened in silent wonder at what the man was doing. It was a long time before he came back in and found the girl staring at him questioningly.  
  
It was then that he finally got a good look at her, he knew she was a Gear from the beginning with the wings on her back, tail, and the blue hair adorned with yellow ribbons. But those red eyes would give it away even if she did not have the wings and tail. She looked about twenty years in age and was wearing cut-off denim shorts and a white short sleeve shirt. She was just about as tall as him and well built, with just enough tone to let him know that she did have some muscle.  
  
"What were you doing out there?" she blinked innocently at him.  
  
The man blinked back at her, then his face became blank and he turned away, "Training, not that it really matters."  
  
"Why wouldn't it matter?"  
  
The man faced her with a cold glare, "And why should I tell you? I don't even know why I helped your kind. Damn Gears ruined everything, killed my family, destroyed my country."  
  
The girl looked like she was physically hit, then bowed her head and replied quietly, "I see, so you hate me. You are just like everyone else."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow, "Should I pity you? Are you just the innocent victim of circumstance? Don't make me laugh."  
  
"Then why did you not kill me yet?" the girl asked.  
  
The man let out a short humorless laugh, "I wouldn't be much of a martial artist without honor. I'm not a common thug lady, honor is important."  
  
"So you don't like Gears, but you don't kill anything if you don't feel you should?" the girl looked at him with the look of a little kid trying to understand an intricate puzzle, "are you willing to forgive some for what they have done?"  
  
"No."  
  
The girl sighed, "I see, even if they would not want to hurt anyone, you believe they are inherently evil."  
  
He clenched his fist, "I think that you are trying to get me off track, and the only reason I have been helping you is because you were getting beat up. Meeting you any other time would make the outcome a whole lot different."  
  
The girl bowed her head again, "I see... Then everyone truly does want to kill me."  
  
He tilted his head to the side as a thought suddenly hit him, "Why do you care, when the gears were controlled by Justice they were mindless killing machines. You're not a full Gear are you? I've heard of your kind but thought it was just a story."  
  
The girl looked away as if frightened, "That won't change anything though, will it?"  
  
He put his arms down to his side and looked to the side with his eyes shut. His face was expressionless, he looked like he was meditating on something. He let out a sigh, opening his eyes and turned back to look at the girl on the couch. He unclenched his fist for a second and the clenched it again, this went on in silence for a couple more second before he spoke again, sounding different. Almost unsure of himself.  
  
"Maybe, I can't guarantee it, but you don't seem like you want to hurt anyone," he sat down across from her, running a hand through his hair, "do you cause this kind of doubt in a lot of people?"  
  
The girl smiled at him, "Those I've met, I only know people from the Jellyfish Pirates."  
  
He narrowed his eyes again, "Bandits..."  
  
The girl seemed surprised at his expression, "They are not bad people, they just try to make a living."  
  
"I see," He said, "so you were just taken in without question?"  
  
The girl nodded, "Johnny likes to help people, you seem hesitant to help people."  
  
"If your talking about the way I'm treating you, you are not a person."  
  
The girl reacted as if he had physically slapped her, somewhere deep down he chided himself for being so mean. He knew that he did not use to be like this, it had been the war that changed him. He had witnessed his whole country destroyed by mindless machines, huge numbers that just kept coming no matter how many he killed. He had tried every trick he knew, but nothing had stopped them. His father had died trying to protect them, then his fiancees father, then his fiancee. His world fell apart after that, it started with anger, then his anger subsided and left emptiness. And longing. He cut himself off because he had to, not because he wanted to, because it was that or the "Colonies". Still, some part of the old him existed, and it was screaming at him about how stupid that was. Now the girl he had just met was mad at him. And sad because of him, and he did not like it when girls became sad due to his actions.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "that was rude, it's not a good reason but my anger at... your kind... can not be easily controlled."  
  
The girl nodded, "I understand, it's difficult for me too be half Gear because people hate me just for what I am. I know you have probably faced much tragedy as many people have, nobody even takes what I want into consideration though. I really just want to live my life in peace."  
  
"Yes, that is not a bad wish," He got up suddenly and bowed to her, "I am Ranma Saotome, and I'm sorry for being so rude."  
  
The girl blinked, "Oh, well, my name is Dizzy."  
  
There was a moment where it was quiet except for the animals outside and the wind blowing through the trees. Then there was the sound of people yelling. It was not the yelling of people who were in pain, it was the yell of people who were frantic. Their voices carried a name on the wind and it traveled unhindered to the ears of the two people in the small little shack. Ranma immediately went on guard.  
  
"That sounds like them," Dizzy said, "they actually came looking for me."  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "That's what you generally do when someone you care about is missing."  
  
Dizzy looked up at the man as he stared off towards the door with a look of concentration. It was almost like he expected whatever came his way to want to start a fight with him. As protective as Johnny was of her, she really would not doubt that he would start a fight if she was seen to be hurt. The question was, how easily would the pirate Captain dispatch this young man, or would he even be able to. He had stood up to that woman after all, and she was a lot more powerful than Johnny was.  
  
"We had better go to them, this place is hard to find," Ranma said suddenly, "C'mon, I'll help you."  
  
Ranma went to reach for the girl, but just as he touched her the wings that adorned her back sprang forward, the black one changing into a kind of axe. The man jumped back in surprise and looked at Dizzy as if he was hurt by what happened, not physically, but mentally.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about Necro and Undine," the girl said frantically, "they are my protectors."  
  
"Some protectors," Ranma said as he glared at the wings, "I could have been killed."  
  
Dizzy stood unsteadily, grabbing her makeshift crutch to keep the wait off of her hurt leg. She hobbled over to the man who now seemed to have reverted back to treating her like the first time they met. It hurt her to see the look of distrust in the man's eyes.  
  
"I really am sorry, Ranma," She said, "they were just trying to protect me."  
  
She saw the hardened look in his blue eyes soften, "I know, you can't help power like that. You must have a strong will to keep all that in check. Anyway, let's get going, and try not to attack me again."  
  
Dizzy nodded and started to walk towards the door when she suddenly felt herself being supported in the air. It took her a moment to realize that Ranma had picked her up and started running towards the sound of the voices. She also noticed that he had forgot the crutch he had made for her. It seemed that he was in a hurry to get rid of her, for what reason she could only guess at.  
  
It was not long before he had arrived at the place that Johnny was waiting. There were a few trees around the area, a lot of them were knocked down, they looked like something had hit them to cause them to fall. It was a clearing of unnatural origin and in the middle was standing a blond haired shirtless man with a long black trench coat, black sunglasses, a wide full brimmed black hat and what looked to be a stick on his hip. Next to him was a girl of about seventeen years old with long brown hair, an orange pirate outfit, and carrying a large ship anchor slung over her back. It was total chaos as soon as they saw Ranma carrying the blue haired girl in the jean shorts and white shirt.  
  
"What the hell did you do to her?" the man asked dangerously.  
  
Ranma did not answer but let the girl stand on her own and stagger over to the group. Once she was in the possession he turned and started to walk away slowly. There was no need for him to explain his reasons to these people, and they would not understand even if he did. How could they understand that it was his hate for Gears that had caused him to help her. How could he explain that he saved her when he should have left the girl to die. He could not even explain the reason for such things to himself.  
  
"Wait, answer us," that must be the girl who was with them, Ranma stopped but did not turn, "Why did you hurt her, and why did you just let her go?"  
  
"I don't know," he said, "I was not the one to hurt her but I wish I was. I couldn't though, Gears wiped out my whole country, and killed my family, and basically destroyed my life. I killed so many that I lost count. Yet I could not kill her."  
  
It was the man who spoke this time, "For what it's worth, I thank you. We owe you a debt of gratitude."  
  
Ranma bowed his head, "No, you don't, it would only be a waste. I only wait to die."  
  
"So young, too young to have a death wish," the man said after a pause, "you lose everything and you give up on life?"  
  
Ranma turned quickly and anger showed plain in his eyes, "Yes! Tell me you could lose everyone you care for and still have the will to live. You can't, you don't know how it feels to be helpless to prevent people you care for from dying before your eyes!"  
  
"You assume to much," Johnny said, "I have lost someone also. My father was killed by the Gears when I was very young."  
  
Ranma crossed his arms, attitude changing rapidly, "I see, so you think that makes it better. In either case I would appreciate if you left."  
  
Ranma turned and slowly started to walk away, not looking to see if the group was leaving.   
  
Johnny frowned but turned, the two now stood with their back to each other, "You know," the blond man said after a while, "it is much harder to find someone in the air. Just a suggestion."  
  
Ranma looked over his shoulder, "And if I take this offer, what then?"  
  
"I can offer you nothing but a place to live and steady food," Johnny said, "of course I will have to ask you to work for me to earn your keep."  
  
The dark haired man nodded, "All right, I guess it is better than living where I do right now, and I am use to working, I will accept your offer."  
  
If you asked him then he could not tell you why he accepted the offer from the Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates. Ranma was not sure of a lot of things he did now days, he was just hoping that he would at least have release. Release from his life, release from his pain, he wanted to be free from all the memories. So he followed the people to the airship.  
  
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The end, short and to the point. There will be more, any clarifications or questions contact me at chrisloporchio1@comcast.net. Thanks.  
  
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Sparrow and Hatred  
  
Chapter 2  
  
It was night and he could not sleep, this was not all that unusual for him. His pain kept him up... kept him alive. That was one of the problems he had. The whole living thing was just not working out for him, but he could not die. There had been a point were he had tried countless times to throw himself from buildings, swallow pills, even drive a blade through his body. It never worked. Now he was laying awake on the Mayship, in nothing but his black pants, and staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Mom, pop, Nabiki, Kasumi, Mr. Tendo..." there was a pause as if he had trouble getting the next name out, "Akane, I'm sorry."  
  
There was a knock on the door just then, soft and hesitant, they did not want to wake him. It was weird but since he had come aboard this ship had not seen a single male besides himself and Johnny. It occurred to him as he walked to the door that none of them were really dating material either. They were either too old for the Captain or too young. Except for Dizzy. Ranma answered the door.  
  
"Oh, did I wake you," speaking of blue haired Gears, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed."  
  
Ranma nodded, "I'm fine Dizzy, and you did not wake me, I don't sleep that good any ways."  
  
Dizzy nodded, "I see, well if you need anything just tell me, and please try to sleep, it isn't healthy for you to stay awake. You're body needs rest."  
  
The man nodded, "I'll try," there was a slight pause before he continued, "and thank you for the second chance Dizzy."  
  
The blue-haired girl nodded and turned to leave, Ranma closing the door behind her. Going back to lay down, he continued his staring contest with the dark ceiling. He drifted back to the first night he had witnessed the Gears. How afraid he had been at first sight of the beasts, like lumbering wretches. Not fully human but not fully machine either, they were like zombies when they moved. When it came to fighting them it had not been that hard to defeat them even. Some had been tougher than others, but the sheer number had almost got him killed. He had been too scared to face the seemingly infinite number of monsters that came. Even after they killed everyone, after he had done everything to protect those he cared for, they had kept coming. Until Japan was one flaming wreck of stone and metal, like a post apocalyptic shell of what he used to call home. Without knowing it he drifted off to sleep, dangerously unpleasant thoughts trap in his head.  
  
He had slept for a few minutes when Dizzy came back by his room, making her rounds on the ship. She had been "volun-told" to take the watch tonight. It was very unusual that she was ordered to take a watch in the first place as Johnny was very protective of her. Maybe he wanted to make sure the new guest did not get out of hand. Her thoughts on him had been mixed. She was however starting to understand him, though she was not sure everything made sense quiet yet. Every time she thought she was getting close to understanding him he did something that would boggle the mind of anyone. Even when he was not depressed he seemed emotionally neutral. He had not smiled once since she saw him, not that she could blame him, his life was just too sad. She had in fact never comprehended the destruction of the Gears until she met him.  
  
She realized that she had walked into the darker section of the ship where the man was staying. She had been on her way to check all the gauges in this section any ways, in order to make sure they are reading correctly, she had not noticed how deep in thought she had been though. She walked a little farther into the back until she neared the gauges she needed to check. Seeing that they were all reading correctly, she turned to walk to another part of the ship when she noticed she was passing Ranma's room. She had checked on him earlier, and he did not seem like he wanted to have anything to do with her. He was so full of anger that she could barely stand being near him without feeling guilty. Though she knew he did not blame her, he was truthful in that fact, but he also could not hide the hate for her kind that shone like fire in his eyes.  
  
"No, get away, please," that was his sleeping voice, muffled behind a door, curious she put an ear to the door, "damn Gears. I hate you! You took everything, Akane..."  
  
Dizzy looked at the door in surprise, she was not sure of Japanese language but from what she had learned that sounded like a woman. Had he also lost his girlfriend in the war? Not only his family but the woman that he had given his heart to. It tore at the half-Gear to know that her kind had done such horrible things.  
  
"BASTARD!" the girl recoiled at the sudden scream, "I'll kill you! If it takes every last breath in my body I shall make you pay for doing this! After I kill Justice I'm coming for you!"  
  
The blue-haired Gear put her head against the door, eyes shining with the sadness that she felt for the boy. How could she understand how devastating that war had been, she had not been alive for it. Now that she had clearly heard the terror and anger in this man's voice as he slept she got a feeling for how all those people must feel.  
  
Slowly,inexplicably, she opened the door he was on his bed on top of the covers. The bedding was all messed up, evidence of his tossing and turning during his fitful sleep. The girl walked over and looked down at the sleeping young man. His forehead creased in concentration and his eyes moving rapidly under his eyelids. She let instinct guide her actions, her hand reaching out to touch his softly. He almost instantly calmed. Then she was surprised when his hand turned and grabbed hers tightly. His steel-like grip unbreakable, she struggled to keep her power at bay so as not to hurt the man. She found his blue eyes glaring at her coldly.  
  
"You aren't making a strong case for yourself," those were the only words out of his mouth, yet they spoke volumes with their tone.  
  
Dizzy struggled to answer, she was under the strain of holding her power back, "Please stop, you're hurting me."  
  
Ranma sat up, but kept his grip on her hand, "Listen, just leave me the hell alone. You're kind are filth, I don't know why I even trusted you. You just tried to attack me."  
  
"No, you misunderstand," Dizzy was pleading with him now, "I just wanted to... I wanted to help."  
  
This provoked a definite reaction in the man, dropping her hand he took a big step back, "Help, why? Gears don't help humans."  
  
Dizzy fell to the floor and held her hand in pain, "I don't want to hurt people. I want to help, I wish I could go back and stop everything from happening. But I can't, so I have to do what I can here."  
  
Ranma sighed and closed his eyes, "So you don't want to hurt people, you realize that this goes against everything I have come to learn about you're kind. But then, I keep forgetting you are different."  
  
He bent down and grabbed her hurt hand, examining it for a few seconds before letting go. He walked away for a second, opening a small fridge they had provided him with in case he wanted to eat in his room instead of at the galley. Getting some paper towels from the bathroom and some ice from the fridge he wrapped the ice and set the ice against the hand where he had squeezed her.  
  
"Keep ice on it," He said as he took her hand and placed it over the ice pack to keep it on, "the coldness will help the swelling stay down."  
  
Dizzy looked at the man in wonder, "That's twice now, why do you help me if you hate me so much?"  
  
Ranma struggled to find the words to reply to her question, in all truth he did not know the answer, "I don't know, maybe it's because you remind me of someone in my past life. Not my fiancee, this girl was like an older sister. No matter how crazy my life was she was so innocent."  
  
The blue-haired girl walked over to sit down on the bed, "So you see me as innocent."  
  
"No, more like you are young," the young man said, "I... you just don't act as old as you look.  
  
The Gear nodded, "Yes, I know, I have a lot to learn about this world."  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "You look twenty, you can't have that much to learn."  
  
Dizzy looked down at her iced hand, "I'm really only three, mentally and physically I am about twenty. Do to my heritage my growth was accelerated."  
  
"Makes sense, that would explain a lot of things about the way you act," Ranma said, "though I would not be so accepting of such things if I didn't live such a chaotic life."  
  
"But you still hate me?"  
  
Ranma stood still and stared at the girl for a second, taking in the sight of her. She did not look dangerous in any way, in fact if it was not for the wings and tail Ranma would not even think her to be a Gear. They were there though, and he was forced to take that into consideration. The whole theory surrounding her had thrown him for a loop, considering the Gear evil incarnate was easy enough considering what they had done. This girl was different, and he was having trouble making head or tails of what she meant to him. He felt that he was slowly getting use to the "Innocent Gear" but was not sure if it would be soon enough. And the question of hate still remained in his mind, did he hate her, probably not. At least not anymore.  
  
"No," he said after a long pause to give himself time to think of an answer, "that would be too easy. That feeling is reserved for Gears that are mindless."  
  
"I see," Dizzy said, "I should be getting back to my watch now."  
  
Ranma nodded, "I'm sorry for everything Dizzy, even for my dislike, but I am trying to get better."  
  
The girl smiled gently, "It's okay, please just try to sleep now."  
  
Laid back down on the as the girl stood and started for the door, he wanted to try to sleep at least. It was not even ten seconds from when he lay down that he ship listed suddenly and a siren sounded. The blue-haired Gear lost her balance suddenly and stumbled backwards over the edge of Ranma's bed. Unfortunately this meant that she fell on the man as he was trying to go to sleep. The explosion and the sudden rocking had woke him up in the first place, but he had not been prepared for the sudden weight of the girl.  
  
"Oh, that hurt," the man groaned, "let's find out what's going on."  
  
Dizzy quickly got up and nodded, "Yes."  
  
The two started for the door but the ship rocked again, throwing the two toward the metal bulkhead of the ship. Without thinking, Ranma grabbed Dizzy and put himself between her and the wall. There was a thud as they hit and fell to the ground. Slowly they got to their feet and looked around. The girl was fixing Ranma with a worried look as he seemed to be in pain from the crashing around.  
  
"Are you okay Ranma?" she asked in a worried voice.  
  
The man nodded and made his way towards the door, still looking hurt. Dizzy caught up with him and tried to help him but he shrugged the Gear off. He was fine, he just had his body sandwiched between two heavy objects. He had dealt with worse.  
  
As they made their way down the corridor they ran into the girl in orange from before. She looked frantic as she ordered the other girls on the ship around. Sparks flew in great arcs, threatening to strike down anyone who got to close. As she saw Dizzy, the girl ran towards her and started to talk frantically to the girl.  
  
Ranma took the time to listen to the noise around to see if he could make out what had happened. As far as he could make out, the ship had been attacked by some person, using an attack to tear the ship apart. Johnny had gone out to face whoever it was, but that was as far as anyone knew. Getting enough information to find out that the fight was out on one of the wings of the ship, Ranma took off to see what was going on. Getting to the hatch of the ship was a pain, he felt like a fish trying to swim upstream.  
  
By the time he arrived, the Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates was just getting dispatched, by the same woman in red that Ranma had faced before. She was holding the Captain by the neck, squeezing the life from him ever so slowly. The dark haired man did not want to fight the woman again but if it would save someone's life then he would. Besides, this woman was obviously one of the evil Gears he had based the meaning of his life off of.  
  
"You! Are you after the girl again," his voice held no room for error, no forgiveness for this woman.  
  
The woman in the red witches had and mini-skirt had turned to him, "Oh, so you want to go another round. I must say that I am happy about that. I would love to have the taste of your blood on my lips."  
  
It was then that Ranma noticed the strange scent coming off the woman, it was the smell of battle, the smell he had worn during the war, it was the smell that made him lose his sense of self, "Blood... you smell of blood and death."  
  
The woman did not say anything back but instead proceeded to attack him. Only the speed of his training prevented him from having his head caved in by the steal of the guitar the woman wielded. As he leaned to the side, he used the momentum to half-cartwheel onto his hands and kick the woman in the face. The woman was knocked to the side, giving him time to spring back onto his feet, towards the woman and give her a double footed kick to the waist. The whole process was unorthodox and looked strange, but he had planned it that way. The more he kept his opponent off guard the better.  
  
As the red musician stumbled back, the dark haired man took the time to press the advantage. As long as he kept her from using that damn guitar of hers he was fine. Other than that, she had no way of protecting herself. Then he had to pause to set up a move and the hesitation gave her the time to jump away, throwing an attack in mid-air. The bolt of electricity the guitar gave wrapped around him and made him scream in pain. Then she prepared for the move that had caught him off guard the first time. Everything went black as the path was traced in red, Ranma took the time to try to build a defense against the attack. All he could think of to do was to try and block the attack as much as possible.  
  
Then something happened that neither of the fighters were prepared for. A giant ship anchor slammed down in between the two fighters just as the attack was launched. The proximity blocked almost all of the attack and what had got through was harmless. The man was silently thankful that he did not have to deal with that again, he was not sure that he could take it.  
  
"You lucking son of a..." the red musician glared at him in anger, "I'll kill you this time for sure."  
  
The woman charged towards him and made to swing the guitar down on top of him. He jumped back and the weapon sailed harmlessly past him in a downward arch. The woman blocked his return attack and countered by grabbing him and throwing him across the wing of the plane. He struggled for footing on the slick wing as the wind threatened to rip his feet out from under him. This fight had suddenly taken a turn for the worst, he felt the pain and hopelessness start to rise within him again. He had only failed once, and it cost the people he cared about everything. Now his screw up would cause these innocents their life.  
  
"Well this is just too bad, I wanted to personally kill you but I guess I will have to settle for watching you fall to your death," the woman was taunting him.  
  
He felt the pain spread through his body and the sadness of knowing he was going to fail make him numb. Slowly he stood strait and looked at the woman hard, his soul was ice now. It was colder than the wind that threatened to make his fall to the hard earth below.  
  
"You're right, but if I do drop you will come with me," Ranma said sharply, "I will not allow this pain to spread."  
  
With the declaration the man charged at the woman as fast as he could. His speed blinding the surroundings and causing him to develop tunnel vision. He hit the woman and they both flew through the air toward the edge of the ship. The two did not go strait off but rolled across the metal of the giant flying machine. Ranma righted himself in time to see that the woman was starting to get up. In a kind of controlled slide, he swiped the woman's feet out from under her and sent her over the edge. The man soon followed the woman, and the realization that he was about to die comforted him. He looked up to see the ship get smaller as he fell, then the woman disappeared in mid-air. He stared in disbelief for a second before he felt a pair of hands grab his waist. Looking back he saw a certain blue-haired gear holding him tightly.  
  
Ranma's mind reeled, how the hell could this be, she had just risked her life for him. It was not just his own life that was in danger now, it was hers, he could not live with himself if he let another innocent die because of him. She was even trying to use her wings to slow the fall, but that would not work because of his momentum and added weight. Damn you woman, he thought, always ruining everything!  
  
Now he had to cushion the blow for both of them, granted the wings slowing the fall would help, but not by as much as he would have liked. All that was left was to release the power he had kept hidden from these people for so long.  
  
Dizzy had been doing a good job of slowing him down but she knew they were still going to hit the ground. It would be the second time she had fallen from the ship, though they were not as high the first time. It was all because she did not want to see him die, he was so lonely but he was also trying to throw his life away. The girl could not understand such a desire, she had been lonely also but never felt the need to give up on life. When she saw the look of irritation he aimed at her she thought she had screwed something up, then she realized he intended to die in this fall. Why, he had a life to look forward too, he could be happy again did he not realize that. Then he started to glow.  
  
It was barely noticeable at first but soon the aura grew thick and dark red. The warmth of the energy flowing through his body could be felt all throughout her body. She did not know what the man had planned but judging by how close the ground was he had better do it fast.  
  
Then he slowly cupped his hands out in front of him and closed his eyes, brows wrinkled in concentration. Then the glowing in his body started to move to his hands before a ball of energy formed there. Slowly it got bigger and the ground moved closer. Then when they were a good one-hundred feet in the air he let the giant ball of energy loose. It was more of a constant stream as it left his hand, the back-blast of the attack killed the momentum of their fall almost completely. Dizzy's outstretched wings caught the wind and she slowly guided them to the ground.  
  
As they approached, Ranma took the liberty to release himself from her arms and jump to the ground. They were about ten feet away when everything settled down. The man was looking at the blue haired Gear with slight irritation while the girl looked back at him with a look that was very close to pity.  
  
"You tried to kill yourself back their," it was a quiet declaration.  
  
Ranma nodded, "Yes, and what's the point, I want to die."  
  
"How can you want to die? I thought humans had a high sense of self preservation," Dizzy was obviously confused by his want, she had never met a human so bent on killing themselves.  
  
The man did not answer but instead sat on the ground, then leaned back and stared at the sky in silence. Confused, Dizzy laid down next to him to see what he was looking at. Seeing nothing after a while, she blinked and looked over at the man, he had his eyes closed but he was not sleeping. He was smiling to himself, then his smile turned to a light laugh as he put a hand to his head.  
  
"You are quiet different," Ranma said humorously, "were you trying to see what I was looking at. I was not looking, I was thinking, and trying to do it without being preached to."  
  
Dizzy rolled over and frowned, "Has anyone told you how rude you are?"  
  
"All the time, though not since they were killed in the war," Ranma again looked to the sky, "It was a day like this you know. Clear, sunny, a perfect day for being lazy. That was when the first one showed up at our door."  
  
Ranma was staring at the sky through his hand now, his voice was far away. There was deep sadness in his voice as he retold the memories of the day the first Gear had killed his father. It had attacked without mercy, and without a word, just leapt forward at him. The blow caught him off guard and he thought he would die, then there was the horrible spray of blood on his face as the blade attached to the things hand pierced his father's skin and went strait through. The Gear did not even pause in his second attack, and he was too afraid to do anything.  
  
"My father had just died in front of me, I was in shock and my world just stood still," Ranma let his hand fall back to the ground and closed his eyes once more, "there was yelling, I couldn't understand what was going on. All I saw was a flood of the Gears start to march through the street and people falling. One after another people fell to the things, but they wouldn't touch me for one reason or another."  
  
Tears were now running down the man's cheeks as his shut eyes futilely tried to hold them in. He was choking on sobs as he continued the story of the killing. Yet he somehow was never touched by any of the evil things.  
  
"I even tried just standing in the middle of them as they came at me but they never even tried to scratch me," he wiped the tears from his eyes, "there was no explanation for it, why was it me that they wouldn't kill. It drove me mad, and I guess I just never really recovered from the madness. I decided to try to live alone for a couple years and just wait for death since pursuing it was not working. Then I met you and I thought that maybe this was part of my end, it was a sign by some god that wanted to have mercy on me. Apparently I was wrong."  
  
The blue haired Gear looked at Ranma with sympathy, "If you want to die why did you let me catch you? You could have just broke my grip."  
  
The man looked at her as if she were crazy, "I... never thought to do so. In any case we had better find a way to let the pirates know where we are. It's not safe for us down here."  
  
Dizzy said nothing but followed the man as he started off towards what seemed to be a random direction. She wondered idly if he had just wanted to drop the subject they were on. He seemed to be getting a little irritated with the whole thought of his old life and wanting to die.  
  
The man in question had other things on his mind though, most of all how to get this girl back to her ship. He had no doubt that they would be worried about her. It was ridiculous really. Falling from the same ship just a day after she had gotten back to it. And it was because of that same woman in red.  
  
"Stun Edge!"  
  
The man turned at the yell to see electricity fly from the sword of one man towards another man in red. The man in red jumped over the arch of electricity and kicked the other man in the face. It was obvious who the better of the two fighters were, but the motive was lost to Ranma. He had not even had the intention of stopping to watch the fight but when he looked to Dizzy she was totally fixated in the battle.  
  
"Come on," Ranma said as he grabbed her hand, "we have to get going, before someone finds you."  
  
The girl did not seem to hear him as her attention was still fixed on the two men fighting. Ranma did not care much, he knew that they had to keep going before anyone knew she was down here. He sped up until the fight was out of even hearing range, it was only then that he slowed down. When he did, he could see a look of confusion on the girls face, whether it was because of something else he was unsure, all he knew was that it was unnerving to him.  
  
"Now what is it," he asked in slight irritation, "don't tell you we have to go back and get something."  
  
The girl looked at him in surprise, "No, I, those two guys. They were after me before but why were they fighting against each other?"  
  
Ranma stopped and looked levelly at the Gear, "So you held me up for that? Look, we have to find a way to communicate with the ship, I don't mean to be rude but I don't feel like saving your life again."  
  
Dizzy blinked at Ranma for a second, "What," she said in astonishment, "I thought you didn't hate me anymore."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that what you think? Look, I just want to get you back where you're suppose to be. I figure if I can protect you then I have a reason for not ending my life right here."  
  
With that he picked up Dizzy, feeling it would be faster to run without dragging her behind him. The surroundings around them became a blur as the man ran as fast as he could in order to find a way out of this place and back on the ship. The pirates had probably overshot this place by at least a day before they realized what had happened. It was doubtful that they would catch up to them; but on the off chance that they saw the area the two fell in and circled back around they had to make a run in the direction of the ship.  
  
It was not long before all the running came to an end at a clearing. This was not normal clearing though, the very essence of it was sinister. At least to the man, for the man knew this place all too well and knew that being near here was a grave mistake. There was utter pain in the man's face as he saw the pools of the clearing come into view.  
  
"Wow, this place looks so beautiful," The blue haired Gear said absently as she walked towards one of the pools.  
  
Ranma was numb, he never expected to come here again, and yet here he was. His body was shaking as he looked at the cause of his problems early on. Then he noticed that Dizzy was standing next to a pool, knowing what usually happened when someone stepped too close to one of the pools, he took off running as fast as he could. It turned out he was too late as the girl slipped in before he got there.  
  
Running up to the pool, Ranma stopped and waited for a sign of the girl. Nothing happened for a while, then a hand reached out from the surface and Ranma quickly grabbed it and pulled. The girl flew into his arms and he lost his balance, falling backwards with her on top of him.  
  
She looked astonished, "Ranma, I, what was that?"  
  
The man looked down at himself, he had not changed into a girl when she touched him. That in itself was weird, but the fact that the girl did not seem to look any different than before. Helping her off of him, he sat up and looked over at the pool in curiosity. When he looked back at the Gear sitting on her knees and staring at him with a confused expression, he decided to try a test.  
  
"Dizzy, do you feel any different?" he asked absently.  
  
The Gear looked at him questioningly, "Well, I just feel wet, other than that I feel fine."  
  
Ranma had an idea as to what that pool was, though he was not sure he wanted to know the truth, "Uhm, could you try to summon your tail please?"  
  
The shrugged but concentrated, nothing happened, "Huh? That's strange."  
  
"I would agree if I didn't know what happened," Ranma said, "that is the spring of the drown girl. Until we get some hot water you are stuck as a regular girl," Ranma looked at the blue haired girl sadly, "I'm sorry, I tried to warn you."  
  
The girl blinked and looked down at herself, "So all that set me apart from a regular person was my wings and tail? Why was everyone so scared of me."  
  
Ranma sat and looked at her in astonishment, "That is not what they were afraid of, though that helped, it was the power you had. The fact that the average human could be destroyed by you so easily is was they were afraid of."  
  
Dizzy looked down as if sad, "I did not want to hurt people though."  
  
"Yes, but hate is a very illogical," Ranma said, "they see a hint of you being a Gear and they think you can destroy the world."  
  
The girl seemed to hesitate for a second, then quietly asked him a question, "Is that how you think of me?"  
  
The man looked at her unsure, then after he thought about it he answered, "No, it was different. I never hated the Gears, I hated Justice and I hated the man who created him. The things themselves were just being controlled. They have no sense of what is right or wrong."  
  
The girl suddenly shivered and Ranma realized just how late in the night it had become. Getting up, the black haired man looked around to see if there was any shelter within viewing distance. Then he saw a small shack at the edge of the pools, it was a small wooden construct about the size of a tool shed.  
  
"We better get to shelter, we don't know what could happen out in this place at night," Ranma said.  
  
Nodding, the now human Dizzy got up and proceeded to follow Ranma through the mist of the valley. She wondered absently how he knew so well the path through mist of the valley. It also led to the question of how he knew that she had been curse from falling into that pool. The evidence was there, but she did not want to jump to conclusions and make him angry at her. The two of them were just starting to get along after all. As they got closer to the small hut, she noticed that the man's pace had slowed down. She could almost see the tenseness in him, as if he suspected an attack to come at any second.  
  
As he touched the door of the shack, he felt his hair stand on end, almost as if he was being watched. In fact he had felt this way ever since he had started walking toward the shack. Fighting against his better judgment, Ranma opened the door, enduring the horrifying squeaking of the rusted hinges, and stepped inside. It was dark and the pale light from outside lit enough to see dust swirling. Searching around the wall near the door he felt a switch and threw it. A single bulb lit the inside of the place.  
  
The light was dim but still enough to see the one bed and the single radio contained in the small single room house. There was a stove and a bed in the corner with what had to be drawers for storage underneath. Those were the only things in this place, looking back outside at the rapidly fading daylight, Ranma decided this would be the best place they could get in such short notice.  
  
Walking in with his female companion behind him he sighed at the sparse surroundings. The door shut with a creek behind them and the vibration caused the light to flicker off. As luck would have it Dizzy happened to be walking as it happened and she totally lost her surroundings. The girl felt herself falling as she tripped over something hard. She screamed in panic as the darkness prevented her from seeing the ground. Then she felt herself stopped, and the light came on to reveal Ranma holding her just inches above the ground, his arms around her waist.  
  
Helping her stand he looked at her as if he was concerned, "Are you okay?"  
  
Dizzy nodded and sat down on the bed which had been stripped by the owner before he left, "Yes, I was just scared."  
  
"Well we better get to sleep then," he proceeded to look around for some blankets but found none, "damn, this sucks."  
  
"It's okay," Dizzy said, "I feel warm enough as it is."  
  
Ranma turned to the girl, "You sure, it can get pretty cold at night here."  
  
Dizzy blinked, she had never really had trouble with cold before, but now that he mentioned it she did feel a little chilly, "Well we don't exactly have anything for heat."  
  
Ranma sighed, "Hold on."  
  
When he was looking for the blankets earlier, Ranma had found some pans. If he could get some water and use the stove to heat it up he could change her back to her original self. Of course his whole theory revolved around the fact that her wings were used as more than just weapons.  
  
As he sat and waited for the water to heat in the stove, which luckily enough still had some wood next to it, he wondered just what was the cause for his recent actions. He knew that his views towards Gears had been changing, at least his views toward this Gear, but the fact that he was even helping her in any way was something he would never have thought of doing. Ranma checked the water, and determining that it was hot enough, poured it over the girl.  
  
"Ouch," she said in surprise, "that hurt."  
  
He put the bowl that held the water down he responded, "Yes, I know it can be hot, and I apologize about that. I did not mean to make it that hot."  
  
The girl blinked as her wings again made themselves known and her tail appeared again, "Why did you turn me back?"  
  
"I was thinking your wings could be used to keep you warm," Ranma said as he sat cross legged in the middle of the small room, "we seem to lack blankets."  
  
Dizzy looked concerned about something, "But what about you?"  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow, did she actually care what happened to him? "I will be fine, we have to get moving early so get some rest."  
  
The girl looked like she was about to say something for a second but only nodded her head. Laying down on the bed, she folded her wings over herself. Ranma looked over at her as she closed her eyes and seemed to go to sleep. When he saw her eyes closed he followed suit, laying down on the floor and closing his eyes with his arms folded over his chest. As he drifted off into sleep he could have sworn he felt something soft and feathery cover him but dismissed it as just being tired.  
  
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End of this chapter, on to the next. Thanks for reading this far.  
  
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Chapter 3  
  
There was blood, everywhere was blood, fire engulfed all buildings around him. People writhed in agony as their torn flesh was infested by the dancing orange fire. It was licking at his skin, yet he felt cold, like the fire was not even there. He saw all of his family laying dead in front of him, his loved ones burning in the angry fire that turned everything it touched to ash. In the middle of the flame was were the Gears, led by one in particular that towered over the rest. It was like a robot with long black hair, and it, glowing red eyes regarded the man with a coldness born of it's hatred.  
  
The man stood and wiped the blood and tears from his face, sweat from his exertion flowed down his body and drenched his clothes. He charged the thing only to have it's tail come up from the ground in front of him. The appendage lanced through the middle of his body and came out the other side, missing his spinal cord by inches. The tail withdrew from his body and they all turned to leave him dying and bloody on the ground. Weakly he struggled to get up but his body refused him, betrayed him, he was going to die in cold blood. Just at the peak of his pain he felt someone grab him, female, they were holding on to him and weeping for him. He could not see their face but only saw a feather float to the ground in front of him.  
  
"Ah!" Ranma sat up with sweat covering his body, he was shaking not from the pain but from the dream, "what was that?"  
  
Then he saw that the feeling last night had not been just his imagination. One of the girls wings was indeed covering him in an effort to keep him warm. Looking over at her he saw her still laying in bed with her eyes closed and sleeping quietly. That dream was familiar, but the feather never happened, he had just woken up healed without any knowledge how. Then there was the feather, what did that mean, he did not see a feather in the original battle. It was all too confusing, he needed to practice and clear his head of the thoughts before he got even more confused. He would not be able to fight good if he could not concentrate on his fight.  
  
The girl had woken when she had felt him sit up suddenly, though she did not actually get up. She knew he had a wrestles sleep because she could feel the vibration of him moving through the wing that she had covered him with. She only got up when she had heard him leave the house by way of the door slamming. He did not slam it as if he was angry, it was not hard, it was almost as if he was just too distracted to think about shutting it quietly. Getting up she summoned her normal clothes, being a Gear had its advantages as far as wardrobe went, she followed him out the door.  
  
When she exited she found him in a apparent fight with an invisible opponent. His movement was slowed but controlled, on second evaluation it looked as though he was actually a moving piece of art. Each muscle movement was precisely calculated to start and stop in a particular place and his breathing was slow and controlled. The flow of his form could only be compared to water, as if he was ready to flow around any counter attack that might present itself. Dizzy moved closer in order to get a better look at what he was doing, unfortunately not paying attention to where she was walking and stepping on a branch.   
  
The snap of the cracking sound seemed to echo across the valley, and Ranma stopped in mid-kick. With his leg still extended high in the air he pivoted his grounded foot to look in the direction of the sound. When he saw Dizzy looking back at him he brought his leg back down to the ground and started to walk towards her. The girl was unsure of how he would react, his actions were so unpredictable that she was not sure if she should be afraid of him. He stopped about three feet from her and crossed his arms over his chest, staring motionlessly at her.  
  
Finally he put his hands down to his side, "I know you are powerful but you don't know how to fight, do you?"  
  
Dizzy blinked, "No, I never had the need to learn."  
  
Ranma smiled and shrugged, "Yeah well, I was just kind of thinking that I should teach you some. After all, I won't always be around and if you were attacked in your cursed form you couldn't defend yourself."  
  
The girl paused and looked at him, blinked, then blinked a little more before she answered, "Uhm, sure, I think it would be a good idea to learn. I just don't want to hurt anyone."  
  
"Nah, you won't hurt anyone but me," Ranma said in a cheery voice, "I've been hit so many times it hardly even hurts anymore, besides, it will just be basic to get you out of some scrapes."  
  
"Yes," Dizzy said, "I just don't like hurting anyone, I don't feel like I should be fighting."  
  
Ranma became serious as he put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes, "Listen, do you think I like hurting people anymore than you do? I do it because I have to, and trouble seems to find me, if it wasn't for my training I'd be dead already. Martial Arts does not come down to whether you want to do it, but when you use it."  
  
The girl looked back at him with astonishment, "You seem so passionate about it. If you believe it will help me I guess it would not hurt to try."  
  
Ranma nodded, "All right, first of all, there should be no such word as try in your vocabulary. The only thing trying gets you is hurt, you must succeed, never make a move unless you know it will counter a move. Keep in mind also than countering is what this is all about, you don't have to hurt them, just give yourself time to get the upper hand."  
  
As Ranma explained he proceeded to show Dizzy, albeit very slowly for him, how to counter certain moves. For the most part it was basic and she seemed to get the moves very easily. Even as she was practicing though, Ranma could see the trepidation in her movements. It happened especially when she was supposed to hit him, which he had her do only because he needed to see if her form was correct when doing so.  
  
Finally getting tired of this the man stepped back and turned away for a second, then turned back, "Look, I realize that you don't want to hurt anyone but I can't get a good idea of your form if you don't put some power behind the punch. Unless your opponent is going to fight in slow motion this won't help."  
  
Dizzy looked downcast, "I know, but I just don't want to hurt you, it would make you angry."  
  
The man looked over at her with a look in between mirth and confusion, "You're starting to sound like a broken record. Look Dizzy, I know, for probably the hundredth time I know, but you won't hurt me by doing this. Well then again, you might with the power you have inert inside you, but it's not going to kill me and that's all that matters. As for getting mad, I'm past that."  
  
Dizzy looked at him with an expression that very well could have been happiness, if Ranma had ever seen her happy before he would know for sure, "You won't be mad? you always seemed angry before."  
  
"Well, it's hard to-" Ranma stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder at the horizon.  
  
As she followed his gaze, Dizzy could see nothing at first, then after a few seconds a small black dot came into view in the distance. As it got closer, the form of a person could be made out, though the details were nearly impossible. Still the figure came closer and eventually revealed itself to be a man, in a brown cloak.  
  
"Dizzy, go inside," it was rare that she had heard him talk like that, but the times he had left no room for argument.  
  
Reluctantly she walked inside, turning before she entered to see Ranma and this stranger stare at each other. Neither of them moved for a while, then the man shed the pack he had been wearing. The pig-tailed man did not move, only regarding the figure with a neutral expression. Finally the figure smiled under the cloak that partly covered his face and got into a stance as if he was about to attack.  
  
"So you came," Ranma said calmly, "for her no doubt. It's nothing personal but I can't let you have her... why is not important."  
  
The figure cocked its head to the side, "So, you have sided yourself with the evil. I shall destroy you also if I have to."  
  
Ranma looked to the side, seemingly ignoring the man, "You can try but you won't succeed. I will do only what is needed to protect her, if it requires breaking a few bones then I won't hesitate."  
  
"Same Saotome I always knew," the figure almost seemed nostalgic, "you wear your pride well."  
  
Looking back to the figure, Ranma stared coldly at the man, "I have no pride in what I do. I simply wish to die, and this may be the fastest path, as for suicide, well, let's just say it's been done. I have only death in my wake and hopelessness in front of me. Try and kill me and you will fail."  
  
The figure did not respond but launched forward with a punch that was easily dodged. Ranma did not touch the figure even with the obvious opening, but waited again for an attack. A kick aimed at his face which was deflected easily, and countered with a sweep. Getting up from the ground the figure grit his teeth at Ranma. Launching into a flurry of attacks that were very fast, the figure moved around the man with the long braided hair. Still Ranma was too fast for the attacks and seemed to weave effortlessly between the attacks. The figure had spent his energy on the attack.  
  
"Is that it, you seem to be out of practice," Ranma said as he stood in front of the figure, "how the hell did you survive with those atrocious moves."  
  
The figure growled, "Damn you, how could you move so fast? You have to have cheated somehow. I have increase exponentially over these years, yet you still move faster than me."  
  
Ranma shrugged, "Look, do you want to at least come in and meet her? I hold no hard feelings for you, I feel the same way, but she is special. Don't asked me what but there is something about her that makes her important."  
  
The figure seemed surprise, "I guess I have not choice, I might as well find out what I can about it."  
  
Ranma nodded, "Fine, just take off that ridiculous outfit, you look stupid like that Ryouga. Oh, and 'her' name is Dizzy."  
  
The man pulled the hood off and revealed his face, he had the same build as Ranma, a little more muscular in the upper body and a little taller. His hair was unruly and black, held in place by a bandanna, and his green eyes regarded Ranma with irritation. He picked up his huge backpack, which held everything he needed to survive in his life of wondering, and followed Ranma as he started off towards the shack.  
  
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End of 3. Thanks for Reading.  
  
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	2. SandH020406

Ranma 1/2 & Guilty Gear X/XX  
  
Sorrow and Hatred  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
I own none of these characters, I am just a humble  
  
writer with an idea.  
  
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Book 2  
  
Chapter 4  
  
As he opened the door he saw Dizzy sitting in the corner on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest and her wings wrapped around her in a parabola, not totally engulfing her. She was looking towards the door with a worried expression when the two of them entered, an expression that changed quickly when she saw Ranma.  
  
"So this is it," Ryouga said dryly.  
  
Ranma groaned, "No,this is her, her name is Dizzy. There is no 'it' here."  
  
The man snorted, "You are too soft to deal with this 'woman'. I could break her in half."  
  
"You could try, she is surprisingly strong," Ranma said with a smirk, "and if you want to know why I protect her it's because I owe her my life. You know, that whole honor thing you don't have."  
  
Ryouga sneered at Ranma, "Look you son of a bitch, you know what they did to Japan. You were there when they killed your family, why give her a chance? Just because she saved you once, she was probably trying to mislead you."  
  
Ranma cocked his head to the side, "There is also one other fact I can not overlook, she is half human. It is true that Gears killed my family but there were no half-Gears there so I see no reason why I should attack her any ways."  
  
The man had to admit that Ranma had a point, "Damn... Half-Gear?" he looked over at the girl who seemed unsure of how to react to his arrival, "Shit, well, I have heard of something like that," he turned back to Ranma, "I guess I am at fault then, I heard of a powerful Gear and was trying to stop a second Justice, but this will involve more investigation."  
  
"We have to get moving, we fell from a ship and are trying to get in contact with it," Ranma said as he walked over to help Dizzy stand, "Do you know of a place where they have a radio like that anywhere near."  
  
Ryouga rubbed his chin in thought, "There should be a restaurant near here, due west, don't know of a place with a radio but they might."  
  
Ranma nodded, "Thanks Ryouga, I hope there are no hard feelings, it would suck to be your enemy again. Though I'm not sure we should trust your directions, what with your past history."  
  
The man smiled crookedly, "Hey, you asked for the directions, remember that. As for the whole enemy thing, yeah it would, wouldn't it. I'm going to let this go, but I'll be watching to make sure she does not start rampaging. Take care Saotome."  
  
Ranma nodded, "You too, Ryouga."  
  
As the man left, Ranma turned to look at Dizzy, "So you two aren't enemies."  
  
The man shrugged at her question, "It's a strange relationship, we are not enemies but we are not friends. We stand each other."  
  
She did not understand, he barely understood himself, but it was not all that important any ways. As long as he did not try to harm her it was fine. Helping her stand, Ranma and Dizzy walked towards the door and in the easterly direction. There was not a lot of talking between them as they traveled, indeed the need for words was seldom, but eventually the travel got too tedious to not converse.  
  
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I was wondering what your old life was like," Dizzy said to Ranma, when the silence became too overwhelming.  
  
Ranma looked forward and studied the coming terrain as he continued walking. He did not answer immediately but held up a hand to let her know that a second was needed. They had been walking through some thick forest and the availability of an ambush kept him on alert constantly. Holding a finger to his lips, he motioned for her to keep quiet, she nodded in affirmation, and he crept slowly forward. Brush cracked at his feet as he broke twigs, he was a perfect target in this place but there was not much he could do to prevent that.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ranma responded, "I'll have to answer that later."  
  
He stopped suddenly and his hand flashed out to catch an object out of the air. It had been headed for his head, and he had caught it just inches away from its target. Throwing the thing away he narrowed his eyes and scanned the trees for an indication of a threat. His hand flashed again and he caught another sharp object aimed at his heart. This one had not even come close, but the strategy was easy to figure out at this point, whoever was trying to ambush him was counting on him wearing out. Reaching out with his senses, Ranma looked for the person using a kind of developed sixth sense. Then he heard the air whistle as another attack came, his mind traced the sound of the parted air back to the original trajectory and to his target.  
  
After smacking the knife out of the air, Ranma jumped into the bushes. There was some scuffling for a bit, making Dizzy a little worried for his well-being, but he emerged a couple minutes later with a small scratch on his arm and carrying a woman in his arms. He looked slightly unnerved as he came out, but gently set her down and disappeared without a sound into the foliage again. When he returned he carried a sheathed Japanese sword over his shoulder.  
  
He set the sword down next to the woman and sighed, "Shit, what the hell is going on. You have a lot of enemies Dizzy?"  
  
The girl looked embarrassed, "Kind of, humans don't like me all that much because they are afraid of my power."  
  
Ranma closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "This is getting irritating, we are never going to find the ship at this rate."  
  
Dizzy looked down at the woman, "Hey, I know her, we fought once before and she said she was trying to find 'That Man'."  
  
"Whoever the hell that is," Ranma grumbled before sitting cross legged on the ground, "why do chicks have to be so complicated."  
  
Dizzy kneeled down across from him, "I'm sorry, Ranma."  
  
He let out a short laugh, "Seriously, stop saying that, I'm starting to think that's the only word you know."  
  
They were both distracted as the woman started to shift and come back to the conscious world. She sat up and held her head in her hand as she shook it back and forth slowly. Looking up, Ranma noticed something he had not before, besides the strange tattoo and the pink hair, the definite Japanese build to her, and the kimono, she had one scar over an eye. She quickly jumped up when she realized he was standing near her, reaching instinctively for the sword that was not there.  
  
"What?" her tone was that of anger as she glared at him with her one eye, "Where's my sword?"  
  
The dark haired man merely pointed down at the ground where the woman's sword lay, "I really don't want trouble, I just want to know what the idea of attacking us was."  
  
As she picked up the sword and replaced it where it had been before, she spoke, "I was told that you knew something about 'That Man'."  
  
Ranma narrowed his eyes as if inspecting her closely, "I think you're bullshitting me, those were aimed to kill."  
  
"Yes," the woman regarded him coolly, "I did not need the information from you, I wanted to send a message."  
  
The man rolled his eyes and raised his hands in the air in a "why me" gesture, "Either way, I have never heard of 'That Man' and I sure as hell am not going to let anyone kill me. Even if I do want to die, it does not work that way."  
  
"Ranma, I feel another Gear close," Dizzy suddenly chimed in, "we had better get moving."  
  
The man looked back at her then back to the woman, "Look, can we discuss this later. I have to avoid a fight with a super powerful Gear right now. Do you think you can keep up with me, Dizzy?"  
  
"I don't know," the blue haired girl said, "maybe if you do not run your fastest. But I do not even really have to run."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, "are you planning on flying?"  
  
The pink haired woman suddenly spoke up, "She can float, dumb ass."  
  
"Listen whoever the hell you are, I don't have time to pick a fight here," Ranma yelled suddenly, "I don't care how we do it, we need to get out of here right now."  
  
With that the man and the blue haired Gear took off at a run towards any direction that would take them away from the approaching Gear, "Hey, stop running away coward!"  
  
And of course the woman took off after him, being a magnet for trouble. Ranma's usual fast pace was slowed only because he wanted to make sure Dizzy could keep up with him. Surprisingly she was keeping up with him just fine. The forest was thick with brush and it slightly hindered his line of sight. With this being the case he could not see the drop as he stepped on a sudden slope and was sent sliding down. Of course Dizzy had little trouble as she did not even need to touch the ground, the pink haired woman on the other hand slid down the hill with little hesitation. The drop at the end was sudden and there like a waiting predator was a small lake.  
  
Ranma had already gone under, the woman following him, the splash was enough to reach Dizzy as she came near. With her curse being activated there was a look of surprise as she lost the ability to hover. The surface was calm for a while, then it became broken by a red haired Japanese girl carrying a coughing blue haired girl in her arms. The red haired girl slowly waded towards the edge of the lake as she kept the blue haired girl on top of her to keep her from sinking. The two of them neared the edge and the girl with red hair placed her companion on the solid ground.  
  
Through her coughing, Dizzy looked at the woman desperately, "Make sure the other woman's okay."  
  
The girl looked at Dizzy as if she were crazy, "That chick can take care of herself."  
  
"But she only has one arm," Dizzy pleaded desperately.  
  
The girl smashed a fist through the water, "Damn! Wait here, I'll be just a second."  
  
The girl disappeared just below the surface, leaving the blue haired girl to wonder just who she was, and where Ranma was. Looking at the surface of the water, Dizzy started thinking about the circumstances. Not only did the girl act as if Dizzy should know her, but she spoke roughly. Thinking back to a day ago, she remembered Ranma's reaction when she fell into that spring. The way he knew the path through the spring in the thick fog, and the fact that he knew instantly how to change her back. Though naive she was not stupid, there was few other explanations for what was going on. Ranma had a curse to change into a girl, the same way she did.  
  
The surface of the water suddenly came to life near her and a few seconds latter a spluttering girl Ranma burst out of the surface. She had the pink haired woman in her arms, she was still conscious, still she looked a little water logged. Ranma put the woman up on dry land before crawling out herself and laying on the shore.  
  
"Damn that sucked," the red haired girl said.  
  
Dizzy looked at her with concern, "Are you okay Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah I... So you know," Ranma looked down, "this is how I knew what happened to you. Like I said, trouble is drawn to me in many forms."  
  
The blue haired girl smiled, "Well this is certainly interesting, I have not been around that much, but I think this is funny."  
  
There was a moment of hesitation, "You know, I think you show your feelings more when your curse takes effect. Either way, I'm glad that you aren't disgusted by it."  
  
"Why would I be?" Dizzy asked curiously.  
  
Ranma sighed, "Someone like you would not understand, you have not been raised in a society where being a different gender than what you were born is not accepted."  
  
"No, but I think I understand it," the blue haired girl said, "Generally it is not acceptable for one gender to act the opposite of what they are."  
  
"That about does it," Ranma said as she stood, "How are you doing over there?"  
  
The pink haired woman she was referring to looked at her as if she was crazy, "You saved me after all that, why?"  
  
Ranma looked up over the lake they had just crawled out of, "Dizzy asked me to, there is not room for pointless deaths in a world where survival is hard enough as it is."  
  
"Thank you," The woman stood and bowed, "I hesitate in giving you my name because it's not easy to trust people today, I'm Baiken."  
  
"Another Japanese that escaped the Colonies no doubt," Ranma said with a serious edge to his voice, "don't worry about me giving you away, I escaped myself and would prefer that they not know of me either."  
  
Baiken nodded, "Um, you do realize you have no shirt on, don't you."  
  
Ranma looked down and covered her chest, "Son of a... What the hell am I suppose to do now?"  
  
Baiken dug in the torn sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a small dark green tank top, "It's not much but it's all I have. Don't ask where I got it just go with it okay."  
  
Ranma took the shirt and raised an eyebrow at her, "You wouldn't happen to know someone named Mouse would you?"  
  
"No, why?" Baiken looked at him strangely.  
  
Waving her off, Ranma put the shirt on, "No reason."  
  
Dizzy stood to meet the two people already standing, "We should probably get going again."  
  
"Yes, we should try and find that restaurant," Ranma agreed, "It looks like this is where we part ways."  
  
Baiken nodded, "Yes, I will see you Ranma Saotome."  
  
"How-"  
  
"Let's just say a little bird told me," Baiken said as she casually walked away.  
  
Shrugging, Ranma turned and started back through the forest in a roughly easterly direction. They had been running in the total opposite direction they had originally wanted to go. The noon sun was now burning through the canopy of the forest and the humidity was making them both sticky and uncomfortable. Ranma had a tank top so her upper body was not too hot, but her pants were sticking from the sweat and Dizzy was obviously struggling with the temperature. There was little variation where she had been and this seemed worse to her than it really was. It was still bad though. With the thickness of the forest alone there was no room for the wind to penetrate and cool them down. They could only hope that there was a brake in the forest soon so they could take a rest.  
  
It seemed like forever but eventually the two of them reached the edge of the forest. There in front of them was a small town busy with people going about their business. The village was small in size, almost like how Ranma remembered the village of the Amazons. The roads were made of dirt and smoke curled up from the chimneys of some buildings. As the two women made their way through the village, they spotted a small restaurant with a dragon head sticking vertically out of the top. The dragon head was the chimney of the restaurant and made to look like smoke was coming out the mouth. There was only one thing wrong with the restaurant, and that was the fact that it was presently burning.  
  
The fire had progressed too far for anything to be done, the restaurant was already lost. Ranma noticed a strange figure walking away from the fire, dressed in white and blue with blond hair. The weird thing was that the skin had a kind of metallic pallor to it. It occurred to Ranma that this figure may in all fact not be human. Then Ranma saw a Chinese girl running after the figure, yelling about the fire that was presently burning down her restaurant. She was the owner, so she would know best who to talk to about their problem.  
  
"Wait here Dizzy," Ranma said quickly, "I'll be right back."  
  
Without waiting for a response, the girl took off after the other two figures as they ran. The chase ended quickly when the Chinese woman lost the robot man in a particularly thick crowed. Growling the woman turned only to find a red haired girl staring at her. The woman pointed at the red haired woman and said something rapidly in Chinese.  
  
"Say what?" Ranma said, "Look lady, I don't know much Chinese so could you slow it down a little."  
  
The Chinese woman glared at her, "I said get out of my way, I have to find the person who burned my restaurant."  
  
Ranma pointed behind her, "That guy is long gone, I was just wanting to ask you a question. Do you know if there is a radio near here, I need to contact the Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates."  
  
"Jellyfish Pirates! Die!" The woman charged Ranma.  
  
"Crap!" Though Ranma was sure that she could take the woman, she was not in the mood to fight right now.  
  
The two took of running, the Chinese girl following just behind Ranma in the direction they had just came from. As they passed by the burning restaurant once again, Dizzy followed the pair. The two of them were running back and forth in front of the flame.  
  
"Get back here so I can kill you!"  
  
"Why me, why is it always me? Crazy Chinese woman, get away from me!"  
  
As the blue haired girl watched the two run back and forth she spotted a familiar man in black with long hair. He was helping to try and put out the fire that was threatening to spread to other structures around it. Next to him as always was May, the pirate girl in orange who had a crush on him. Quickly she ran over to the two as they started to help throw water on the building.  
  
"Johnny, May," The two turned from what they were doing in surprise, "We've been looking for you."  
  
"Dizzy, I'm glad you're okay," Johnny said quickly as he threw another bucket of water on the fire, "can you help with the fire."  
  
The blue haired girl nodded, "Yes."  
  
As this was going on, Ranma's problem had gotten worse, not only was the Chinese woman still chasing him but he had lost track of Dizzy. Fearing the worst he stopped quickly which caused him to skid and kick up dust from the ground. Turning quickly, he ran back towards the woman who was surprised by his change in direction, to say the least. As the red haired woman got close she jumped up and flipped over the Chinese woman. As she passed overhead, she extended a finger and jabbed a pressure point on the back of the Chinese woman's neck. As the woman collapsed, Ranma turned and looked for Dizzy. Then she saw the blue haired girl running towards the burning building with two buckets of water in hand.  
  
Running over to the girl, Ranma questioned her about it, "What's going on."  
  
Dizzy stopped and nodded in the direction she was headed, "The fire is spreading."  
  
He had totally forgot the fire, "Come on, I have an idea."  
  
Taking one of the buckets, Ranma joined Dizzy as they ran to the fire. Heaving the bucket in the fire, the red haired girl started to circle around the fire. It was not a spiral but Ranma knew the basic principle of the attack and was pretty sure that it would work.  
  
"Get everyone back," Ranma yelled over the roaring blaze, "Hi Ryu Shouten HA!"  
  
The swirling wind launched upward, fueled by the soul of ice, and focused the fire in a tight spiral. The vacuum after the attack caused by the lack of air caused the fire to collapse in on itself afterwards and seconds later it was out. Ranma wiped the sweat from her head and sighed as she looked at what was left of the restaurant. The fire was out but what had not been turned black by the dancing flames was now shattered by the circle of wind she had created. Shaking her head at the destruction, Ranma apologized silently for her actions, she knew it was the only way to stop the fire but the outcome had almost been worse than the fire itself.  
  
"You put out the fire," Dizzy said happily.  
  
Ranma looked over at her for a second, "That was a bit more than I intended, I think I know now why the spiral needs to be so tight. It was a good thing that it did not damage any other buildings."  
  
"Who are you young lady?" Ranma turned to see Johnny walking over to her, "I would like to congratulate you by name."  
  
Ranma looked up at the man, "If you get me some hot water I can explain everything."  
  
Johnny raised one blonde eyebrow over his dark square sunglasses, "If that will help I have some back on my ship, it's not that far from here."  
  
The red haired girl nodded and started off in the direction of the ship that the pirate Captain was walking towards. It was all well and good that he was trying to help her but if he hit on her once during the trip she would knock him out, and not in the easy pressure point kind of way. Lucky for everyone involved neither of these actions happened. The three walked into the ship and at the request of Ranma went into a private room. Once in the room with a heated pot of water the red haired girl took the kettle and poured it over her head. As the water ran down her head she was replaced with a tall young man with a flat chest. The reactions around the room were mostly astonishment, except for Dizzy, for obvious reasons stated earlier.  
  
"Hey, where did you come from," May yelled, "where did that girl go?"  
  
Ranma mumbled something under his breath, "Look, if you calm down I'll tell you what's going on," there was a pause as everyone in the room nodded, "it all goes back to my early training. When I was young my... I guess I can call him my father though I have little respect for him, he took me to the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo in China. Knowing almost no Chinese he thought it was a training ground and so we started training. I was the first one to draw a good hit and knock him into the pools. When a giant panda came out I was in so much shock that I couldn't move. The panda turned out to be my father and he hit me into another pool. It was the Spring of the Drowned Girl, and so whenever I get hit by cold water I turn into a girl."  
  
There was a long pause where nobody moved, not knowing how they should react to this news. Ranma had come to expect this reaction from people when they heard the news. The simple fact that most people these days did not believe in curses and superstition was enough to put everybody on edge when they heard of his curse.  
  
Finally recovering from the shock, Johnny looked at Ranma carefully, "So you are a girl and a guy, but not at the same time? Your father is responsible for this?"  
  
The man nodded, "Yes, though it would do no good to blame him now, he isn't here to say anything in his defense."  
  
May was angry at this man's father for such stupid acts, "Tell me where he is so I can pound him into the ground?"  
  
"He's gone," Ranma said.  
  
"So he abandoned you?" May asked.  
  
Ranma said nothing at first, trying to restrain the pain that was threatening to sound through his voice, "I don't want to talk about it. Please stop asking me questions about him, I just... He's gone because of me."  
  
The man turned and walked out the metal hatch that sealed the room, slamming it behind him he proceeded to walk. His direction was a mystery, he just needed to walk to clear his head. He needed to stop the feelings that threatened to overtake him. Those days were behind him but he had not found the courage to face them. He had spent his life fighting and so he did not deal with his problems. Or rather, that was how he dealt with his problems, by fighting.  
  
Here in the air with these pirates he was safe from people trying to fight him. With no distractions around he now found time to think about his actions and was thoroughly disappointed in himself. He had just watched as his father died, he was too slow to protect the others. Now he was forced to look at these actions in light of what had happened to him. Stopping, Ranma felt his eyes starting to burn with held back tears of pain. Having bottled everything up during the initial happenings he felt it hit him at once. The emotional overload hurt him just like he had taken a physical blow to the stomach.  
  
"It hurts," he said as he sunk slowly to his knees, his aura started to glow around him, "I never knew how bad it could hurt. It's all my fault, I could have done more, I know I could have done more."  
  
"Ranma!" he heard a yell from behind him, "what's wrong?"  
  
His vision was fading in and out, "I don't know! It hurts!"  
  
Another person came running up, "Get him to the doctor!"  
  
=======================================================================  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Hatred and Sorrow  
  
Chapter 5  
  
A person came running up, "Get him to the doctor!"  
  
It was the last thing he heard before the pain became too much and he lost total consciousness. When he woke up later he was laying on a table with his shirt off and a bright light shinning into his face. Groaning and putting a hand over his face he tried to sit up but he was too sore. He could hear people talking in the room, somewhere in the distance. Settling for laying down he started to listen to what the people were saying.  
  
"I don't know what to make of this," one person said, "there is nothing wrong with him. It's almost as if his body is trying to rip itself apart."  
  
The second voice spoke up, it was male, had to be Johnny, "How could this happen? We don't even know what brought this on."  
  
Ranma tuned the talk out then and thought about what had happened before. The last thing he had remembered was them talking about his father before he ran out of the room to escape the sadness. He had not noticed it at the time but he was positive his aura had started glowing. His life energy had been surging with the emotion of depression and anger. That was what Ryouga based his attacks off of some time ago. After long use it could cause damage to the mind and eventually the body. Were his emotions trying to rip his body apart then?  
  
"Looks like he's awake, let's see how he's doing," one of the voices said, "How to you feel Ranma?"  
  
The dark haired man groaned, "Like someone hit me with a truck, in which case I would have to ask how the driver of the truck is," laughing lightly Ranma could not see the strange look the two gave him at his joke.  
  
"I see," the said again, "so you feel well enough to make jokes at least. Do you know what caused this?"  
  
Ranma took his hand away from his face and tried to open his eyes, but again the bright light thwarted his actions, "First could you turn that light off, it's giving me a headache."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Finally able to open his eyes, Ranma surveyed the situation, he was in a room of white. It was clean and bare of anything but beds for patients to lay on. On his left side stood an older woman in a doctors uniform and on his right stood the Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates.  
  
"I have my theory," Ranma said after his evaluation of the room, "though it may sound far fetched. I think my negative energy was overwhelming my body."  
  
"As in 'ki'?" the doctor asked, "I thought that was just here say."  
  
Ranma smiled, "Yes, well most people do. There are very few people who can use this energy, and it can be hard to control. Unfortunately I have become so adept at using it that if I let it get out of control I could level a small city. And destroy myself."  
  
"So you are that powerful?" Johnny asked.  
  
Ranma shrugged, "Yes and no. I am powerful in the aspect of how much energy I can produce. I'm not some godlike man though."  
  
"I see," the doctor said, "so you are powerful but you don't use your full power."  
  
Ranma nodded as best he could, "You got it, humans don't have that much control."  
  
"Hmm, well you can go, I have all I need," the doctor said, "there is little point in keeping you here if there is nothing wrong with you. Just try to keep your emotions in check, talk to people about your feelings to try and prevent future blow ups."  
  
Ranma slowly sat up, "Yes, I will do that, thank you."  
  
If truth be known, he was not feeling that good, the simple knowledge that he had almost ripped himself apart was not comforting. Had he built up anymore emotion he could have destroyed everyone on this ship, including himself. He imagined it would be like a nuclear meltdown if he blew like that. His steps were slow and aching as he made his way slowly to his room. Opening his door he saw some food on the stand next to his bed with a drink. Ranma did not feel like doing anything but laying down and resting. Sitting on his bed he took a quick drink and after setting it back down he leaned back on the bed at a perpendicular angle so his feet hung off the side. There was slight pain as his vertebrae realigned themselves with a succession of pops, proof of hardships his body had seen in one day.  
  
There was a light knock on the door, causing Ranma to bend his head up so his chin was against his chest, "Come on in."  
  
The door opened and Ranma let his head drop back to the soft bed, "I thought you might need some company. Everyone on the ship is worried about your breakdown."  
  
Just by the voice he knew it was Dizzy, how long had he spent with her to know her so well? A Gear of all things... people, she was not a thing. He had progressed far enough that he could at least admit that she was not going to kill him. Under different circumstances they probably would have been friends from when they first met. Even if her appearance was strange, he had seen things that most people now would think of as myth. All things considered, Dizzy was probably one of the most normal people he had ever met.  
  
"I'm fine, I just need rest," Ranma muttered, "I feel like I tore every muscle in my body."  
  
The girl sat down on his bed on his left side, causing him to look slightly to the side at her, "The doctor says that you bottled up emotions caused this to happen. I came in my other form so you would not react so harshly."  
  
"That was not necessary," Ranma said shortly, "the doctor told me I was antisocial basically."  
  
There was a pause as the two just looked at each other, then a bright red color came to Dizzy's face and she quickly turned away, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your rest."  
  
As she started to walk out the door, she heard his voice behind her, "What were you thinking about just then?"  
  
"Nothing, it was nothing," Dizzy said as she turned, quickly dismissing it.  
  
Slowly sitting up, Ranma favored her with a crooked smile, "You know, I may be wrong but I think you're hiding something."  
  
"Um, well, I just was wondering about you working out," her blush was almost increasing with every word.  
  
Ranma looked like he just won a fight with a powerful enemy, he started laughing, "I'm sorry but you are just too fun."  
  
The girl looked unsure of herself for a second then frowned, "You're mean."  
  
"Oh come on," Ranma said trying to control his laughter, "I'm just having a little fun. Don't take it so personally."  
  
"I still think you're mean," the girl said.  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his neck, "I'm sorry, really, I didn't know you'd react like this."  
  
"It's okay, your use to dealing with people who have been in society a while," Dizzy said.  
  
"Not as much as you might think," Ranma said, "I have not been around people that much, the people I did meet usually wanted to kill me or marry me. Sometimes both."  
  
There was a long pause between the two, the conversation having nowhere to go. All that could be heard was the droning of the airships engines as it propelled the vessel through the air. There was slight rocking as the ship hit turbulence but other than it was a smooth flight.  
  
"Ranma, could you show me the world?" Dizzy asked as she finally broke the silence.  
  
Surprised the man did not know quiet how to react to the question, "Um, sure, I guess. I hope you realize that you'll have to stay in your normal girl form most of the time. If you lose control of your power and people find out you're a Gear then there could be serious danger."  
  
"I understand," Dizzy said, "I just would like to see what the world looks like without anyone worrying about me. Everyone is so protective that they don't allow me to go out anywhere."  
  
Ranma nodded in understanding, "Honestly I can see why considering all of the people we met that tried to kill you in short time I've known you."  
  
"If I stay in my full human form you think I will be okay?" Dizzy asked.  
  
Shrugging Ranma headed for the door, "No idea but it's worth a try, let me talk to the captain about this. If anyone will have any ideas about hiding it would be him. Wait here for a second."  
  
Walking out the door and down the long metal corridors of the ship, Ranma was thinking of what to do. He had not planned on being on this ship long but he had also not planned on taking this girl with him. The idea did not appeal to him as he knew well what it was like to travel with him. Usually it involved a lot of danger and eventual argument about what he did wrong. Ranma did not think that Dizzy was like that but he had not spent much time with her. He found the Captain lounging in the bridge and keeping a casual lookout of the actions of his crew.  
  
"Yo, Johnny, I need to talk to you," Ranma called as he entered the bridge suddenly.  
  
Looking surprised the blonde man quickly looked over at Ranma as he came in the door of the bridge. Smiling once he got over the shock, the man stood up and greeted Ranma with a nod. The two closed the gap as they quickly walked in each others direction.  
  
"How can I help you, Ranma?" Johnny asked as he put his hands on his hip.  
  
"Well I came because of Dizzy," Ranma said, trying to quickly get through with this, "she wants to go out into the world. I think she feels like she's been too smothered."  
  
Johnny raised an eyebrow over his glasses, "Smothered? I had no idea she felt like this. I have only been trying to protect her, though I do admit she has not been able to get off the ship much. How long is this trip going to be?"  
  
Shrugging Ranma answered, "I couldn't tell you, as long as she wants I guess."  
  
The blond haired man seemed to think about it for a while before he spoke again, "We are going to stop for supplies in a couple of days, you two could get off then. My only reservation about this is that there is one of Dizzy's companions that may not like her being in the world like that."  
  
"Who's that?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Actually he's right behind you," Johnny replied nervously.  
  
Turning, Ranma saw a tall pale man with long black hair down to the middle of his back, and wearing what looked like a skirt. On his shoulder sat a nasty looking crow and in his hand he carried a scythe with a blade made of red energy. Everything considered the only thing Ranma could see to worry about was his weapon and those had such a constricting effect against his style of fighting that it did not matter much.  
  
Ranma just about matched the coolness of the man's emotions, "So are you going to try to stop me?"  
  
The man reached up to pet the bird on his shoulder lightly, "That depends on what you are talking about. If it involves hurting Dizzy then yes."  
  
"I see, well it doesn't," Ranma said, "she just wants to see more of the world."  
  
The man fixed him with a hard look suddenly moved both of his hands to grasp the scythe, "No."  
  
"Take it up with her," Ranma said waving the man off, "it was her idea to go. Besides, due to unforeseen actions it shouldn't be too much of a problem."  
  
"Your going to have to let her go sometime, Testament," Johnny said from the side, "she's growing up. You think you can keep her locked up forever?"  
  
The man made now sound but Ranma could see his anger as he lashed out with his weapon. Ranma needed no other action to dodge the weapon and mold smoothly into a fighting stance. Testament threw his large weapon out in an attempt to cut Ranma down, but the man just leaned back and let the blade pass harmlessly over him. As the blade was pulled back by Testament, Ranma leaned back up and jumped into the air about twenty feet. The movement was so quick that a slight trail was left behind him as he moved. Pausing in the air, almost floating, Ranma decided on his next move. With a yell he fell back to the ground with a foot extended toward the man.   
  
Testament swung at a long upward angle to try and counter the kick, but Ranma had planned on this. At the last second he changed position and landed lightly on the extended handle of the large weapon before planting his hands on the man's shoulders and launching himself back into the air, launching a roundhouse kick at Testament's back as he became weightless once more. The blow forced the dark Gear to fly forward and land on his face, sliding across the metal floor of the ship.  
  
"Weapons only hinder your true ability," Ranma said as he stood strait and watched the man get up, "if you want to continue this fight then I don't have anything against it. Just remember that this was never my idea."  
  
"Ranma!"  
  
The man turned toward the yell that came from the door to see Dizzy entering the room, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I felt another Gear enter," the woman said, "what happened?"  
  
Ranma pointed a thumb over at Testament, "This guy comes barging in and starts attacking me. He said something about protecting you by keeping you here, when we tried to explain what was going on he started attacking me."  
  
"You have it wrong," Testament said, "I will allow her to travel if she wishes. I just wanted to make sure you knew how to protect her and yourself. But I warn you, if any harm should come to her I will not hesitate to find you and punish you."  
  
Ranma looked over at the man with something bordering on amusement, "Buddy, I don't know who you think you are but it's pretty hard to kill me. Besides, if anything happens to her then you have my permission to punish me."  
  
Testament looked at the man darkly, "I hope for your sake that you can live up to that."  
  
With that the dark man dissolved his scythe and disappeared the same way he had appeared. Once he was gone, the business on the ship again went back to the normal operation. Dizzy and Ranma walked off the bridge of the ship and allowed Johnny to go back to concentrating on navigating the vessel. As the two walked down the corridor there was a silence throughout the ship. With the time of day everyone was now helping to run the giant airship. The corridors where almost bare except of the occasional crew member passing on their way from the bride to their station.  
  
"So he's your protector?" Ranma asked as they walked, "he seems like an overprotective parent in drag."  
  
Dizzy looked over at him in surprise, "Testament really isn't that bad, he is just a little untrusting."  
  
"Untrusting of what? It was the Gears who attacked us first, not the other way around," Ranma was irritated at the fact that humans were made out to be the bad guys by this Gear.  
  
"You have to understand his past," Dizzy said, "he dislikes humans because they tried to kill him when he wanted to be left alone. Then they tried to kill me even though I had nothing to do with the war."  
  
Ranma nodded, "There's more, you don't want to tell it to me though."  
  
The blue haired Gear nodded, "Yes, it's too personal though."  
  
The intercom suddenly squawked as it became active and a voice rang though the ship, male so it had to be Johnny, "ALL CREW MEMBERS OF THE AIRSHIP MAY PREPARE FOR LANDING IN SPAIN. LEAVE IS RESTRICTED TO TEN MILES FROM THE SHIP, EXCEPT FOR THOSE WITH SPECIAL PERMISSION FROM THE CAPTAIN TO GO FARTHER."  
  
Ranma looked from the intercom to Dizzy, "Looks like that would be our cue."  
  
The girl nodded and the two of them took the nearest seat in preparation for the landing. The ship started to shake as it hit the lower atmosphere, disappearing behind the clouds and then reappearing underneath them over a large body of sparkling water. The sun was just starting to sink towards the horizon, it was probably about six in the afternoon. Soon a large area of land came into view and the ocean disappeared behind them. The plan was to set down on the edge of Spain in a barren area so they would not easily be seen. The ship slowed and then came to a hovering stop over the landing area before slowly descending. There was a clunk as the landing struts absorbed the weight of the ship like a shock. The cargo door to the ship dropped outward in a giant metal slab and once it came to a rest on the ground the crew ran from the ship happily. Only five people came walking, instead of running, out of the ship: May, April, Dizzy, Ranma, and Johnny. The Captain was leading the group as they exited the ship, followed by Dizzy standing next to Ranma and May standing next to the blond pirate girl April.  
  
"So I guess this is goodbye," The Captain said, "it was good to meet you Ranma, and the whole crew will miss you Dizzy."  
  
"You better not let anything happen to Dizzy or you'll have to deal with me," May said.  
  
Chuckling Ranma waved his hands in a warding gesture, "I'll be sure to watch out for her then. Wouldn't want to give you any reason to pound be with that anchor of yours."  
  
"Come on, May," April said, anxious to see the town, "let's go."  
  
"April, wait for me!" the pirate girl in orange ran after her friend.  
  
Smiling, Johnny watched them go before turning back to the two people left, "You two have a good time and be careful. I hope you decide to come back to us Dizzy, but I'll understand if you don't. Just be sure to try and keep in touch," the man handed her a map of their landing points, "I hope to hear of your journeys."  
  
Ranma nodded then bowed, "Thank you for being courteous, and sorry I couldn't be of much help because of being hurt so much."  
  
The man grinned, bearing his teeth, "Don't worry, besides, if you come back I'll have plenty of work for you," the man laughed as Ranma looked nervous, "just kidding, now get going you two."  
  
Ranma and Dizzy waved goodbye as they walked off, Johnny watched until they were gone and sighed. As the two disappeared he wished them a silent farewell and hoped the best for the blue haired Gear. Looking back at his ship he grinned and followed his crew out into the country.  
  
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End of Chapter 5. I'm trying to do this in three chapter chunks so I apologize for the wait between "Books".  
  
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Sorrow and Hatred  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"So where do you want to go fist," Ranma asked as they walked through the streets of Spain.  
  
There was a massive crowd on the street so Dizzy was in her "cursed" form. Any unscheduled changes into her Gear self would be hidden by the fact that she could not summon any of her power. This also left her wide open if there was an off chance that she was found out, but they would deal with that when it came.  
  
The girl looked at Ranma, "I don't know, this is so different from what I'm used to."  
  
"You two, stop there," The two turned to see an officer in blue and white with blond hair walking towards them. He was thin and walked with an air of authority. His blue eyes were cold, not uninviting, but more along the lines of expecting an attack. At his side was strapped a white sword with a blue handle.   
  
"Are you two with the Jellyfish Pirates?"  
  
"Yes," Dizzy answered  
  
Ranma began to look nervous, "We were, that is, we are trying to get away from that. We really don't want trouble officer."  
  
The man was staring at Dizzy, "You look familiar."  
  
"It must be a mistake," Ranma said quickly as he scratched the back of his neck, "can we be on our way?"  
  
Looking over at Ranma the man nodded, "Yes, I was actually just looking for information on where the Pirates might be. I got a report that a certain member of their crew might be in danger."  
  
"And who would that be?" Ranma was starting to grow concerned about this line of questioning.  
  
The officer looked at Ranma with slightly suspicious look, "One of their newer members, a girl with blue hair, Gear traits."  
  
Both of them knew who they were talking about, this clearly described Dizzy when she was in her normal form, "Well do you know who might be after her?  
  
Ky slowly brought his hand down to his sword, "You're awfully curious for a casual passer bye. Who are you?"  
  
Ranma cursed, "Look, can we do this in a more private place, if she is really in danger I would rather not make a scene in public."  
  
The policeman removed his hand from his sword and nodded, "I agree, let us not make a scene."  
  
The three of them walked off the street and into a dark alleyway so they could talk without anyone knowing what they were talking about. Ranma quickly checked for any kind of spying devices in before walking back to join Ky and Dizzy. Nodding he indicated that it was okay to discuss the matter more openly.  
  
"Look officer," he began, "if you would like to know this is the girl you are looking for, next to me. It was her decision to come with me."  
  
Ky looked over at Dizzy, "Is this true Miss?"  
  
The blue haired girl nodded once, "Yes, how did you know that someone was after me?"  
  
"Being in the police business gives one a certain... advantage when it comes to these things," Ky said, "any ways, I know you probably will not come with me but please be careful. The Assassin's' Guild is tenacious."  
  
"Thank you for the warning officer," Ranma said, "we'll be extra careful."  
  
With those words Ranma walked off back into the crowded streets to try and get lost among the crowed. It was best to remain scarce if someone was after Dizzy. In fact Ranma realized that they should probably get the girl a change of clothes as soon as possible. It was easy to recognize a girl in a pirate outfit within a town like this.  
  
Back in the alley, Ky crossed his arms over his chest and looked outward toward the retreating couple, "God have mercy on those two."Praying for a Gear boy," a voice said behind him, "and here I thought you hated them."  
  
"Sol, please," Ky said without turning to the voice speaking from the darkness, "not now. I have a job to do."  
  
In the darkness, Sol Badguy spit out his cigarette and walked deeper into the alley with his sword in its usual over the shoulder position. If this boy scout was too soft to deal with such a simple threat then he would have to. Besides, the boy might be fun to play with, and he needed a challenge after all this time.  
  
Ranma and Dizzy had made it to a clothing store without incident in the time of Ky and Sol's banter. The blue haired girl was walking through the store in awe at some of the women's apparel that was hanging on the racks. There was so much and she had such a limited variety to choose from before, she was not sure what she wanted. Ranma fidgeted nervously next to her and looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Dizzy finally picked out a dress she liked and took it to the changing room to try it on. It was very similar to the one she had worn before she had joined the Jellyfish Pirates what had seemed like an eternity ago. The variations came mostly in the material it was made from and the style. It was black and long but the fabric was lighter and the dress was less frilly, more modern.  
  
"How does it look?" Dizzy asked as she walked out of the dressing room.  
  
Ranma had not seen her in a dress before, though he had seen her once for a short period in her fighting uniform. Where that uniform left little to the imaginations, the dress Dizzy picked out was modest and covered a lot of her body. However it accentuated the curved of her body and gave her the look of a the woman that she physically was instead of the little kid she had been perceived as before. Put simply the dress made Dizzy look beautiful.  
  
"..." Was all that Ranma could say as he sat in the chair and stared at her.  
  
The look was very unnerving and the girl was starting to get uncomfortable, "Do you not like it, I could get another one if you think this doesn't suit me."  
  
"... That's not it, I've just never seen you in a dress before," Ranma said uncertainly, "Um, that is, it makes you look very...well... I mean to say... you look... nice."  
  
Dizzy giggled at Ranma's reaction to her question, it was almost as if he was embarrassed of saying the dress looked good, "I'm glad you like it."  
  
Blushing, Ranma stood up and headed for the register to pay for the dress. Of course he forgot about the fact that he needed the dress so the cashier could ring it up. Dizzy watched as he scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously as the cashier looked at him suspiciously. Sighing, she went back into the changing room and changed back into her normal pirate uniform before taking the dress over to him and setting it on the counter. Once the dress had been paid for, she changed into it once again and threw the old clothes in a bag.  
  
As they walked out of the store, Ranma bumped into a muscular man in red, carrying a giant rectangular sword with an ornately carved black handle over his shoulder. He had long brown hair, red eyes, and a inch thick metal headband over his forehead. His chest was bare except for a red and black vest, and he wore a moderately tight pare of jeans. He had a muscular frame and his attitude as he walked was uncaring. Bowing, Ranma said an apology and went to walk off when he felt the man grab his collar.  
  
Narrowing his eyes, Ranma twisted quickly and caught the man with a kick to the face, thus making the man lose his grip. It was a kick that would have flattened a normal man but it only made this man's head snap to the side. Crouching in a fighting stance, Ranma looked around quickly to make sure Dizzy was not in any trouble. The man Ranma was facing slowly turned his head back and smiled at him.  
  
"Good reflexes boy," he said, "a little soft on the hitting though."  
  
Smiling cockily, Ranma tensed in preparation to move, "Hah, I made the mistake of thinking you a normal human. That's a mistake I will not make with my next hit."  
  
Bringing his sword down in front of him the man tightened his grip on the handle and the sword started to glow red, "Boy, you don't want me to get serious with you."  
  
"You keep calling me boy," Ranma's eyes flashed, "interesting, you don't look that much older than me yet I sense great wisdom in you. Fine, I always did like a challenge, come on old man."  
  
The man growled and charged Ranma, intent on delivering a sliding kick to the younger man. Lunging forward over the slide kick, Ranma rotated in mid-air and eased back into a defensive stance. The man was not as fast as Ranma but he obviously had a lot of experience with dealing with various opponents. The biggest advantage the man had was the big sword he carried in his hand. Ranma had yet to get involved with the weapon but he was in no hurry to do so.  
  
As Ranma stood in wait of an attack the man brought his sword down into the ground. There was a trail of flame traveling along the concrete in no time. Ranma was forced to jump into the air, only to be met by a uppercut of fire. Yelling in pain Ranma fell to the ground hard, the flames on his body being put out by the act of him rolling desperately on the ground. Slowly picking himself up, Ranma grinned despite the obvious pain he was in. His eyes were no more the eyes of a over cocky man, instead they seemed to be happy for the pain he was receiving.  
  
"Well, you got me, this is great," Ranma brought himself back into a fighting stance, "fire may be your ally but it will be your biggest downfall."  
  
The man just brought his sword up with the blade pointed downwards, "I guess we will see."  
  
Charging the man started to follow Ranma around in a circle as he backtracked. The man in red continued to press his attack, thinking that he had Ranma on the retreat. For his part, Ranma was doing a good job of making it seem like he was out of tricks. The sword would swing down and Ranma would move just inches to the side to avoid it. It was all part of his ruse, with a scream Ranma ended his ruse was a uppercut that produced a tornado as it mixed with the heat being radiated by the man's body. Unfortunately he had miscalculated just how much heat the man was giving off and the tornado spread to engulf the city block. Realizing what was happening, Ranma knew he had to stop the wind funnel before it got out of hand. Relinquishing his hold on the Soul of Ice he flew into the wind to the apex of the move.  
  
Down below the people in the town were scattering to get away from the sudden tornado. Dizzy had seen Ranma fly up into the wind, but had not known what he was thinking. For all appearances it looked like his own moved backfired on him. She wanted to try and help him but knew that in her current form she would only get in the way. She had to find some hot water and change, consequences aside, she would not let him die after he was just beginning to be her friend. Quickly she ran into a restaurant and grabbed a glass of hot water, upending it over her head. Without hesitation she ran into the torrential wind and followed Ranma and the other man.  
  
Upon seeing this from the air, Ranma cursed, that girl was going to get herself killed yet. Reaching the top of the storm, Ranma used his hot aura and created the counter move to the Heavenly Dragon Ascending Attack. The funnel was canceled out by the downward spiral and Ranma fell back down. Seeing the surprised look on the two people who had been caught in the now ceased winds. Gritting his teeth, Ranma shot towards the ground with his body as strait as he could get it. He had a lot of distance to make up and his body was already worn by the physical strain of going through the spiraling winds the first time. The wind ripped at his body as he forced himself downward at terminal velocity towards the ground.   
  
It was lucky for him that Dizzy had thought far enough ahead to change back into her original form before running after him. She may not seem that bright, but Ranma had figured out by now that this was an illusion drawn by the fact that she knew very little of the outside world. The girl was floating down to the ground with her wings extended, still her flight was a little unstable, Ranma had a feeling the Ascending Dragon had threw off her equilibrium. As he neared the girl, and subsequently the ground, he grabbed her in his arms.  
  
Hitting the ground shortly after he got a hold on Dizzy, Ranma ignored the pain in his legs as the shock ran through them. The violence of his landing had caused the street they landed in to crater. Ignoring the surprised muttering of the people around the landing sight, Ranma took off as fast as he could. If what the police officer said was true then they could both be in some big trouble if someone saw the fight.  
  
It was about three miles later when the pain in Ranma's legs caught up to him. With a yell he stumbled forward and hugged the girl in his arms close to him as they both rolled. It was the best he could do to take the brunt of the fall. When they came to a rest, Ranma was laying on the ground in too much pain to do anything but twitched. The stress of the fighting had been just too much for his body to take. Turning his head he looked to she Dizzy shaking her head to clear it, then she walked over to him.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Finding the strength to barely utter a word, Ranma answered her as best he could, "I had to get us out of there... if there is... someone after you then... then..." Ranma was starting to trail off, pausing to gather his strength once more he continued, "you could have easily been attacked."  
  
Ranma was starting to feel cold, there was something wrong here, he felt darkness. It was clear out and the sun shone bright, but he felt something in the back of his mind that reeked of evil. His sense for these things had developed so much over time that he could pinpoint the exact place someone was, no matter how invisible they thought they were.  
  
"Shit, someone's here," Ranma slowly sat up in a lot of pain, "my leg is too hurt to move, damn."  
  
Rushing to try and help him, Dizzy kneeled down to help him sit up, "You're injured, I can run and get a doctor for you."  
  
"No!" He did not mean it to sound so rough, "someTHING is out there, it's just waiting."  
  
Ranma had luckily received a genetic trait that allowed him to heal quicker than others. The actual trait was a mystery as not one other person in his family had it. Even the people who were on par with him in terms of the art did not have this trait. In any case he was grateful for it now, he could feel the pain slowly starting to leave as the muscle in his leg began to heal. Ranma had a feeling that even with the accelerated healing he would not be ready to fight for a while. It was not just his hurt leg that was preventing him from moving but his fatigued body as well.  
  
Out of what seemed to be the shadow of a building a man walked forward. Over his eyes was a kind of blinder that prevented him from seeing with his eyes. However the black shadow looking figure that twisted around his legs made it evident that it was not with the eyes that this man saw.  
  
"I SEE YOU ARE HURT," the man said with amusement, "DO YOU MIND IF I BARROW YOUR BODY."  
  
Gritting his teeth Ranma looked with unbridled hatred at the man of shadows, "Bastard!"  
  
Looking back and forth between the two, Dizzy slowly let go of Ranma and stood, "I will not let you hurt him."  
  
Grinning the man cocked his head to the side, "YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME, GEAR? VERY WELL, YOU'RE BODY WILL MAKE A MUCH BETTER HOST THEN THIS FRAGILE HUMAN."  
  
Dizzy developed a look that was determined, she had not fought in a while and she only hoped that her power was still enough. Bringing her wings out to their full length, she released the power inside them, Necro and Undine. The black wing, Necro, took the form of a reaper with a grinning skull for a face. The white wing took the form of an Angel looking girl with long white hair, Undine. The white girl reformed into a wing but the grim reaper seemed to pull a bow out of nowhere and charged it's energy into an arrow. Once fully charged the beams cut across the distance between Dizzy and the shadow man.  
  
Calmly the man waved his hand and a shadow leapt up to absorb the energy. The black wing retreated and both original wings were now present on the blue haired girls back. The man seemed to flow forward on the shadows he controlled only to be stopped by a spear of ice from the ground in front of him. The white wing retreated and so did the stalactite of ice. The shadow man made another motion with his hand and a black saw blade formed in the ground, making its way towards Dizzy.  
  
The girl jumped over it and extended her wings in the form of a bladed wheel surrounding her body as she spun towards the man. Being caught off guard the man was hit by the attack and flew back across the ground. Landing on her feet, the girl allowed her black wing to form into an axe and slam down on the downed shadow man. As the black axe retracted the man seemed to disappear into the floor before reappearing on his feet.  
  
The man raised his hand in an upward motion and a black hand came from the ground. Dizzy was caught off guard this time and she was thrown into the air. Seeing this Ranma let out a growl of frustration, he should be protecting her right now. Instead she was fighting this shadow man and he could do nothing to help her.  
  
"Dizzy," Ranma whispered, "you're afraid to use your power. You're major flaw is that you have too much human to use the full power of a Gear. You won't allow it, but in this case you have to."  
  
Looking back at the fight, Ranma could tell that the fight was not going to go on much longer. Dizzy was holding her own but the shadow man was slowly wearing her down. He had to find a way to help her gain the upper hand, she was just reluctant to use the power. If only she could let go she would win this fight and give them enough time to escape. The man would survive the attack but they just needed a pause in order to make their getaway.  
  
"Dizzy!" Ranma yelled, "you have to use your power! I know you don't want to but you got to. It's the only way you can win this."  
  
The girl blocked another shadow attack as she listened to the man yell out to her. He was right, she really did not want to use the power but there was no other way. Jumping away she summoned the black wing into the form of a dragon head. A point of energy came to life in the jaws of the dragon and grew to the size of a normal person. The white energy shot out in a solid row and hit the shadow man before he had time to put up a defense. The backlash of the giant shot of energy shot Dizzy off her feet and caused her to fly back about five feet, landing in a heap on the ground.  
  
Ranma gathered the little strength he had recovered to pull himself to his feet and stager over to the girl. Dizzy was in the process of getting to her feet as the man neared her. Noticing he was looking at her with a worried expression she brushed herself off and walked over to help support him.  
  
"You okay, Dizzy?" Ranma asked as she grabbed him.  
  
Dizzy smiled and nodded, "I should be asking you that."  
  
"I'll be fine," Ranma looked over at where the shadow man had fallen and saw that he was gone, "we should get going."  
  
"Yes, but where do we go?" Dizzy asked.  
  
Ranma managed a shrug, "I have no idea."  
  
"Looks like you have a dilemma, Saotome," a voice said.  
  
Turning towards it, Ranma was shocked to see Ryouga leaning against a building, "Ryouga, how did you find us?"  
  
"Simple, follow the trail of destruction," the man smiled and walked towards them, "come on, I'll let you stay in a place I have near here."  
  
"Ryouga," Ranma waited for the man to get close to the two of them, "thanks."  
  
The man smiled, "Hey, I figure we only have each other left. What with everyone dead from our town but us we have to look out for each other."  
  
"What about Dizzy?" Ranma said suddenly.  
  
The other man suddenly looked more solemn, "She can stay also, but don't you dare think I've changed my mind about Gears. The only reason I'm letting her stay is because I know you would whine and refuse to go if I didn't let her stay with us."  
  
Ranma nearly fell over as he heard the comment, growling he tried to lunge for Ryouga but was held back by his blue haired companion, "How dare you take advantage of my weakness."  
  
Laughing, Ryouga held his hands up in a warding gesture, "Hey, just joking, man."  
  
Ranma smiled as he calmed himself down, "Sorry."  
  
"No problem," Ryouga started to walk off, "this way."  
  
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End of Chapter 6, and of Book 2. The third book might not come as fast as this one. I had to shoot this out so I could explain the wait. I am trying to decide whether Justice should come in the picture yet, if at all. Ranma's survival ability and healing ability (in this universe) will be explained in the next few chapters. For those who don't know Guilty Gear that well, the man in red was Sol Badguy, the officer was Ky Kiske, and the shadow man is Zato-1. Sol and Ky's role will be explained later and Zato hails from Spain so it would be natural to encounter him there.  
  
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	3. SandH030709

Ranma 1/2 & Guilty Gear X/XX  
  
Sarrow and Hatred  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
I own none of these characters, I am just a humble  
  
writer with an idea.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Book 3  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Ryouga took them to a building that was for all intensive purposes condemned. Even from the outside it looked as if the place was going to collapse any second. Inside looked even worse than the outside, just lay in thick blankets over the floor, and the inside was without any kind of furniture. It was as if the place had been cleared out in preparation for being knocked down. Light shined though windows that ran from the ceiling of one floor to the floor of the same floor. Every step kicked up dust, and what could have been asbestos, into the air.  
  
"This place is... quaint," Ranma said as he covered his mouth to try not to breath anything bad in.  
  
Ryouga smiled and shrugged, "It was available, don't worry, there is only dust. I made sure of that."  
  
Uncovering his mouth, Ranma followed the other man further into the building. As they walked the windows became darker from being covered by peices of cloth. It seemed that Ryouga had covered these windows so he could sleep without light shinning in his face. There were cooking utinsels laying out and a small hole so the man could light a cooking fire. A sleeping roll was on the floor next to the pit and next to that was a pit.  
  
"This place is where you sleep?" Dizzy asked, "Is this your home?"  
  
The man looked at her seriously, "No, I have no home, because of my bad directional sense I cannot find any home I may have. I have been on the road all my life, I hardly see my family."  
  
"That seems so sad," Dizzy said.  
  
Ryouga blinked, "Um, okay, do you even know how to feel sad?"  
  
Dizzy looked down, "I'm not sure, I don't know what sadness feels like."  
  
Ranma put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, you don't have to answer if you don't want."  
  
The woman nodded, "I just want to know what emotions feel like, I feel emotions but I don't know how to describe them. Like when I'm near you I feel safe and warm, I don't know what this feeling is though."  
  
Ranma rubbed his chin in contemplation, "I don't know what it could mean."  
  
Ryouga chuckled, "You've never been good with emotions Ranma, this one's obvious even to me."  
  
"Shut up, pig-boy," The man with the braided ponytail yelled, "you're the one who was two timing."  
  
"I told you not to call me that!" Ryouga yelled back, "at least I wasn't stringing four chicks along for my own pride."  
  
Ranma clenched his fist, "Low blow, Lost Boy."  
  
"Because it's true," Ryouga dropped into a fighting stance, "you never loved her."  
  
The other man clenched his fist hard enough that his fingernails drew blood from his palm. His body started to tremble in anger and his eyes were stuggling to keep focused. A low growl started to elicit from his throat until his aura burst for with emotional energy. The dust around his feet started to swirl around as his aura grew around him. With a scream he threw his hands out and a ball of energy shot out from his palms. Ryouga grinned and put his arms up to black the energy, his feet moved a few inches back but other than that he did not seem affected. Ranma was standing in front of him with his bleeding palms still extended outward, head down.  
  
"I loved Akane more than life itself," Ranma's voice was soft and hoarse, "how could you say that? It was my fault she died! It was my fault they all died! You at least tried to protect them without hesitation while I stood and did nothing! Damn it."  
  
The man hunched forward, Ryouga stood straight and walked over to him, "So you've let your emotions take control. Is that why you are so weak? That is pathetic, I understand the pain Ranma, I lost friends and family also. But I fight still because I know that my purpose is not done. While I grow stronger you turn into a sniveling coward."  
  
Looking up Ranma looked less angry and more depressed, "You're right. I have become a coward, I've tried to run away from my life and my nightmares. I tried to run away when the only way is to fight, I need to fight the demons that plague me."  
  
Ryouga grinned putting his hand out, "Yes, we both have demons to fight. As a team."  
  
Ranma stood straight and firmly gripped the man's hand, "As a team, we will get over the war. We will live our life despite the hardship."  
  
Smiling, Ryouga let go of Ranma's hand and addressed the man, "You should rest, I know you heal fast but that doesn't mean you don't have limits."  
  
Nodding, Ranma went to sit down near Ryouga's site and take the weight off his legs. They were already feeling better than they had been, but they were not onehudred percent. Now that he was resting he could feel how much is muscles acted from fatigue. The constant fighting had put his body through a lot of stress and right now his body was rebelling agianst any movement. Resting like he was now, he realized that he was beginning to get hungry.  
  
"I'm going to get some food," Ryouga said as if he had develope the talent of precognistion, "you two wait here. If someone if after you this would be the most likely time to attack, it's safer to stay in here."  
  
Nodding Ranma grinned, "Hey, be careful, I've met these guys and they don't play around."  
  
Ryouga nodded and walked off, leaving Dizzy and Ranma alone in the otherwise abandoned building. The two of them looked at eachother for a while before Dizzy walked over and sat on her knees next to the man. The blue haired woman smiled at Ranma shyly and put a hand on one arm, scratching idly. Her tail wraped around came to a rest in front of her. Ranma just stared at the woman with an air of interest, curious about what she had on her mind.  
  
"You never did answer me," Dizzy said, "I asked what you thought those feelings meant."  
  
Looking a little embarassed at the cause of the distaction when she brought the subject up, Ranma scratched the back of his neck nervously, "The truth is I don't know. There is no way to say what an emotion definetly is, it's just a feeling."  
  
"So if I feel safe around you it could be friendship or it could be love?" Dizzy asked innocently.  
  
The man, not being use to such a direct approached to a question, blanched slightly, "I don't know about that. Damn you're making me uncomfortable."  
  
The woman giggled at his reaction, "Are you afraid of that word?"  
  
Ranma's eyes suddenly turned cold with irritation, "It's less the word and more the concept, remember my past."  
  
The woman became serious at the mention of the man's past, that he had been hurt so deeply by the war was no laughing matter. The simple truth was that she had forgoten how horrible his life had been during that time. She had been so happy lately that she had not thought about the consequences of her words. She was desperately searching for a way to rectify the situation. Unfortunetly no answer came, and the harder she thought about it the more stumped she was. There was no way to know if her next words would make him happy again or make him even angrier. The man seemed to sense her delimma and took the look on her face to mean that he needed to let her know it was okay.  
  
"Dizzy, I- What," He had sensed the giant spike in energy and lept to cover the woman just as the wall exploded inward.  
  
Standing in the rubble of the wall was a machine that towered over both the man and the woman. Its tail swung back and forth and its long hair moved with the blowing wind. The figure was not known to the woman but the man knew who it was all too well.  
  
"Justice," Ranma flew into action in less than a second, "I will kill you!"  
  
The man launched a jumpkick at the Gear that was blocked with little effort on its part. Landing, the man blocked the counter attack from Gear and jumped back, only to be met by a tail poking up from the ground. Ranma did a backward handspring to avoid the apendage before lauching a medium sized ball of energy at Justice. He quickly followed the ball in and just as the ball of energy hit he let loose with his Kashu Tenshin Amaguriken. The hundreds of punches within one second hit the monster just as the ball of energy struck. The combination of attacks sent the Gear reeling back.  
  
"YOU ARE ALMOST AS GOOD AS THE ONE THAT ORIGINALLY DEFEATED ME," the Gear spoke with a metalic voice, like it was filtered through a computer, "BUT YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME."  
  
Ranma smirked at the first Gear, "Ha, come on, show me what you got."  
  
The Gear made a sound that sounded almost like a laugh, "IT IS NOT YOU I CAME FOR."  
  
With those words he turned to Dizzy who was getting to her feet after being knocked down by Ranma. The giant energy cannons on Justice's shoulders began to glow and then a white beam shot out at the woman. With a curse, Ranma jumped and landed in front of the woman, holding her with his back to the beam. The full force hit him just a second later and he screamed in pain as the beam seared his back. He could not tell if the voice that was screaming was his own or the voice of the woman he was holding. It could have been both, the pain was so intense that he felt his vision wavering. It was only for a short time but it felt like the energy beam had lasted hours.  
  
Falling to his knees, Ranma grit his teeth in anger at his stupidity. He had not seen that, though he should have known that he was not the one who was in danger. Getting back to his feet and summoning his full aura, Ranma let a deep growl elicit from his throat. He would have to unleash his potential, there had to be some way to get past this machines defenses. If he could only disable it long enough that they could run away he could get the woman to a safe place. As it was he was out of luck, most of the moves he knew would not work with this machine.  
  
The hoplessness within him only made him feel angry, and the anger he felt now compounded on top of the anger he felt at Justice for even being there made his blue aura take on a red tinge. The overall effect was an almost purple ring around the man. The Ranma felt something he had never felt before, a burning sensation on his forhead as his energy increased. He felt like fire was burning behind his skull and he knew that it was from the anger he felt.  
  
"SO YOU HAVE THE MARK OF A GEAR," Justice said, "IT MAKES SENSE, YOU ARE POWERFUL, LET US TRY A NEW GAME."  
  
Ranma suddenly heared a wisper in the back of his head, it seemed to be taunting him. Tell him to join the Gears in their fight, to help them rise up and destroy the humans. Ranma paused as if unsure how to react to this phenomena. He felt his mind starting to give into the voices before he realized what was happening. With a yell he burst forward and started attacking the monster known as Justice.  
  
"I will not be controlled!" Ranma yelled as he let loose with a spinning round-house kick to the head of the Gear.  
  
The furocity of the kick was such that it caused Justice to spin around as it fell. It was not down for very long though, Ranma was ready to attack again when heard a voice scream out an attack. He saw a green ball of energy slam into Justice followed by Ryouga falling out of the air towards the Gear. The kick that the man aimed at Justice was blocked but it gave Ranma enough time to catch his breath, so to speak.  
  
"There is only one last move," Ranma said quietly, "but it will require a sacrifice that I'm not sure I should make," raising his voice Ranma yelled out to his friend, "Ryouga, take Dizzy and run, as fast as you can. I'm going to need to fight all out and I can't worry about her if I want to do this."  
  
The man jumped away and looked at Ranma questioningly, "What are you talking about?"  
  
Ranma closed his eyes, "Just take her and go, NOW!"  
  
Nodding the man ran off as Ranma started glowing with an aura that was ominously huge. Without hesitation, Ryouga grabbed the blue haired woman and started running in a direction that would take her away from the scene of the fight. He had no idea what was being planned but he knew that if Ranma wanted Dizzy to get away it had to be big. He only hopped that his old friend knew what he was doing.  
  
Ranma had started powering up even before he had finished talking to Ryouga. He did not know if this move was worth the price he would pay but he knew that stopping Justice was the most important thing. If a Gear like him was allowed to wonder the earth free, the devistation would be even worse than the first time he had commanded the Gears. With hardly any military left that could fight the synthetic creatures, they would roll over the humans like a steamroller of a carton of jello. This was just a last ditch effort that would take care of that problem, hopefully once and for all.  
  
"I will not fail," Ranma wispered to himself, "I won't let you destroy any more lives."  
  
The man could sense that his friends were far enough away that he could safely use the move he thought of. It was now or never, he had hoped it would be never but he had no choice. With every ounce of his will he summoned all his energy to let it grow inside him. There was no way he could control the energy he was producing right now, it would continue to grow. He was like a human timebomb waiting to explode, and he would explode right in this vile creatures face. As he felt the energy reach its peak within him, he ran right towards Justice and grabbed onto him.  
  
"I'll see you in hell!" The man yelled as everything became white around him.  
  
From far away, Ryouga stopped and turned to look back as he felt the dispersion of energy. What he saw both awed him and horrified him at the same time. He had seen the end of the white flash, and now was witness to a mushroom cloud rolling up from the ground. There was not way to know what had just happened but he had a strong thinking that he would not like it. Looking at the woman in his arms he saw a horrified look on her face as she stared at the explosion. He made out what he could swear were tears in the girls face, which he view as impossible, Gears were not supposed to show emotion. Had Ranma been right all along, was she so human that she could show her feelings? Could she feel pain, or fear? Love? Hate?  
  
"He's gone," Ryouga looked down as the woman stared sadly at the now disipating cloud, "both of them are gone."  
  
The man looked from the woman back to where they had been running from, "Damn! That bastard, that selfish, good for nothing, bastard!"  
  
The two of them did not move from the spot for a while, in the back of their minds they hoped that he survived. For all their hope they knew he was gone, nobody could survive that kind of attack. He had used every last bit of energy to kill Justice, and it had worked, but at such a great price.  
  
It was not until they had witnessed the explosion die off and the area calm down once again that they left. Ryouga was angry at Ranma for doing such an irresponsible thing. He was not thinking so much about himself as the woman next to him. Her mood had changed drastically since she had witnessed Ranma's end. In a way he understood, though he was not sure why she was as sad as she was. Ryouga was starting to suspect that this Gear had held more than just friendship towards Ranma. There was a strong sense of something whenever they were close. Perhaps he was just having trouble admitting what that something was, or he just could not think of it, either way it troubled him.  
  
"Dizzy," he spoke finally as they walked, "did you feel... attracted to Ranma?"  
  
The woman did not turn towards him, she just kept looking down at the ground in font of her feet. Ryouga was not sure she would answer at all in truth. It seemed that she heard him, but did not want to answer him. The reason for this trepidation could only be known by her, but Ryouga was starting to get the feeling he knew why she was so depressed about Ranma dying.  
  
"You were," Ryouga said in a sad tone, "that's what that warmth you felt was. I'm sorry, there is no way to bring him back, but he would want you to stay strong."  
  
The woman look up finally, her red eyes looking straight into his green ones, "I know, but it was not his turn. It can't have been his time to die. He said he would protect me."  
  
Ryouga looked akward, "I know, and I'm sure in his own way he is, but you have to understand that death comes for everyone."  
  
"No! I will not accept that," the blue haired woman was practically in tears, "he was supposed to live."  
  
The man said nothing in reply, just tried the best he could to comfort the distraught woman. He felt akward as she cried on his shoulder, almost like he was cheating on his best fried, but he could think of nothing else to do. The woman eventually spent her sadness and fell asleep in Ryouga's arms, leaving him in an akward position. Slowly he set her down, leaning her against a tree, then took out a sleeping roll and a blanket from the backpack he had brought with him to get food. He laid the sleeping roll out, put the woman on it, then covered her with a blanket. Sitting down in the crosslegged position, Ryouga watched the woman sleep, unsure of what he was supposed to do with her.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
End of Chapter 7. I noticed something that I did not when I first started this story. The timelines are a little screwy. It's not too big of a deal, and it seems that most of the people reading this have not noticed this screw up. I am glad for this, by the way, does anyone know a place where I could possibly get the age of the GGX characters? I am taking wild guesses at most of the ages in the story. The game book is no help at all, if you have seen it you know what I mean.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Hatred and Sarrow  
  
Chapter 8  
  
He felt pain, it was no new sensation, but the fact that he had caused the pain himself was very new. There was the feel of stone underneath him, he was laying face down in a pile of rubble. There was broken glass around him and giant boulders of concrete were strewn about the area. As far as destruction went this war probably his greatest achievement yet. With a tired groan he pushed himself up to his knees and caughed as he breathed in some dust that had yet to settle. He was cut in many places and his hair was matted with an ugly mixture of sweat, dust, and his own blood. His forehead was no longer hot, he still had trouble believing it was even true. He was a Gear, no that was not totally true, half Gear. He would have been controlled by Justice if he was a full Gear.  
  
Putting his right hand to his forehead, he felt the place that had been burning just minutes before. It was cool, normal body temperature, like it had never been there in the first place. Staggering over to a boulder he sat down on it heavilly and grunted as he jostled his body in a painful way. Most of the wounds that had been inflicted on him were already healed. The bigger ones were visibly closing right before his eyes. Caughing again, he gathered his strength and started to stumble away from the site of destruction. It was irritating to him that all that energy had been wasted for nothing.  
  
In truth, he had not counted on Justices teleporting ability, if he had known that the Gear would just dissappear he would have saved his strength. Now he was weakend, and almost positive that the others thought him dead. His power was barely registering on his own scale, it was doubtful that anyone else could even feel his life force.  
  
As he crunched through the debris of the shattered building, he hoped that he did not make Dizzy worry too much. He wondered if she even worried about him at all, sure they were friends, but she seemed a little distant at times. Maybe that was just because she was unsure of how to act around him. Then something caught his eye, a tattered yellow ribbon caught on some debris on the ground. It danced in front of his eye, the wind moving it back and forth, as if tempting him. Bending down he slowly grabbed the ribbon and studdied it. The color and texture were very familiar, the only person he knew that wore this color was Dizzy. Pocketing the ribbon he stood again and made his way in the direction he thought the two had run.  
  
"Wow, what happened here?" A voice sounded suddenly.  
  
Turning in surprise, he saw the same Chinese woman he had faught during their stop in China. The woman had her hair done up in a circle that met at the top of her head, she wore a red dress and white boots. Her brown eyes regarded the mess with wonder as she scanned the bolders and broken glass. Her eyes eventually came to rest on him as he stared back at her, she ran over to him.  
  
"Hey, do you know what happened?" She asked.  
  
He groaned and tried to steady himself as he wobbled, "Yeah, I tried to kill Justice."  
  
The woman seemed to fix him with a look that implied he was crazy, "Justice was already killed."  
  
The man shook his head to show a negative response to her statement, "No," he was still hurting pretty bad, sitting down again he continued, "if what you say is true then someone made another one. Either way it was Justice, and I failed to stop him. I didn't know he could teleport."  
  
The woman blinked as she looked down at him, "Wow, you really were set on killing him. You need help?"  
  
The man nodded, "Yes, if I were younger I would say no, but that would be stupid here. Hey, what's your name?"  
  
The Chinese woman helped him stand, "Jam Kuradoberi."  
  
There was a pause as the man let out a short chuckle, "Sorry, my name is Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."  
  
Jam smiled, "No problem, I was just trying to find a Gear that was reported near here. There was supposed to be a bounty on this Gear's head. I know I'm close if there is this much destruction."  
  
Ranma nodded, "Well you could say you found the result of a Gear fight. I have no idea where your Gear has gone though."  
  
The woman helped support him as he began to walk, "I hoped to get the money to rebuild my restraunt."  
  
The man nodded, "I see."  
  
As the two of them walked, they talked about random things that had happened to them. It was obviously hard for the woman to walk, talk, and carry him at the same time. She was strong, it was not as if she was uncute either, but Ranma found his mind kept wondering back to the blue haired Gear he had been assigned to protect. He knew he had failed her, if he had not gotten so caught up in his petty revenge they would still be together. As it was he had left Ryouga in charge of looking after her, and while he did not doubt his skills, Ranma was more worried about the man's constitution.  
  
"Do you know where we're going?" Jam asked.  
  
Ranma looked at her tiredly, "I can only assume at this point, I have to try to meet some friends of mine. I felt them go this way before I blacked out. Right now I'm so weak I can't even feel a fly on my nose."  
  
The woman giggled, "I'm sure you will be fine, you told me earlier that you heal fast."  
  
"That is true, but I don't know what the limit is," Ranma admited, "the fact that the limit is unknown to me is what scares me."  
  
"Ah, I see," Jam said, "So how much time did your friends have before the attack was let off.  
  
Ranma looked at the woman in surprise, she had known it was an attack, but she thought of a typical Gear doing it, "I don't know, about ten minutes. Knowing my friend that's about two and a half, three miles."  
  
"That far in so little time, he must be strong," Jam said with an almost far away voice.  
  
Smiling, Ranma nodded, "Strong is an understatement in his case, I really think he's not totally human."  
  
"Like half-Gear?"  
  
"No, it's would have to be something more complicated then that," Ranma responded.  
  
By the time two hours had passed the day had given way to dusk, the sun was hidding behind the horizon and leaving an orange glow across the sky. The only thing blocking the orange was the trees that gave off the appearance of hands reaching down from the sky. The two travelers heared crackling of fire nearbye, almost on the other side of the trees. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a woman with blue hair sleeping next to a fire. Before Ranma could do anything, Jam jumped into the small clearing.  
  
She found her kick, which had been aimed at the girls head, stopped by a strong arm. The woman screamed as she saw the man the arm belonged to. Ryouga was caught off gaurd as the woman brought her other leg up and kicked him in the chin. He stumbled slightly, more from behing unprepared than the actual power of the kick.  
  
"Why you," Ryouga growled.  
  
While Ryouga tried to recover from the kick, Jam pressed her advantage. The man she was fighting was astounded by the speed this woman was displaying. She rivaled Ranma whith the technique and speed, though her power was a little lacking. The woman suddenly seemed to realize something and she stopped and threw off the dress she was wearing to reveal her fighting uniform. Ryouga stared blatantly before fell backwards with blood shooting from his nose. Jam stared at his comatose form with a questioning expresion before shrugging and heading back towards the woman who was still sleeping by the fire. Just as she got near the Gear woman, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Thinking it was the same attacker, she tried to flip him over her shoulder. The move was countered easily though and the woman was roughly pulled back.  
  
"So it was Dizzy you were going after," it had been Ranma trying to stop her the second time.  
  
Jam got into her fighting stance, "I just want the money, I need it for my business. I don't want to hurt you."  
  
Ranma slid into a defensive stance and shot a cocky grin at the woman, "Well you're going to have to hurt me."  
  
Jam stood and stared at the man as he looked at her with determination. She knew he was not up to fighting her right now, but he was still trying to protect this woman. She considered the possiblity that he was in it for the money also and found it unlikely. The way he had stood in the way was not the way a simple motive like money would warrant. It was almost as if he actually felt for this woman, like she was his friend. The whole concept was rediculous, nobody had ever made friends with a Gear. Sure there were aquantences but she had never heard of friends.  
  
"How can you stand up for her?" Jam asked incredulously, "You can barely stand right now and yet you protect her."  
  
Ranma did not answer right away, but when he did the answer was long, "I protect her because she has seen too much pain, she is not some animal to be hunted. Humans and Gears should be able to coexist despite their differences. Throughout history there has been cases of bigotry. Blacks and whites at war, man haters, woman haters, Nazis. They have existed for so long that it seems normal. It's not normal though! How the hell could it be normal? How is hating a Gear different from hating the blacks, or the Jews? It's not! People don't understand... they don't understand because they are afraid.  
  
"How much fear do you think I've seen, I'm twenty-two and I've lived through the near extinction of my race. I saw my family die because someone was afraid, or hated one race. I have so much blood on my hands, both human and Gear, that I'm not sure if I can even call myself a person. Through all this though I've learned that hating one race just out of fear, or because the look different is no way to live!"  
  
Ranma was shaking with pent up anger by now, even after his monologe ended he felt anger at this woman. It was the same anger he felt when he saw his race die, it was anger over blind bigotry. Sure he had treated women different, but he had never used any kind of derogatory word on anyone.  
  
Jam looked at the man with wide eyes, "I never thought to take her feelings into account. I'm sorry."  
  
The man closed his eyes for a second to try to compose himself, "I'm the one who should be sorry, there's no way to know she felt this way. I only know because I've spent time with her."  
  
The woman dropped her hands to her side and stood straight, "I guess I've been selfish, I'll find some other way to get the money to build my restraunt."  
  
As the woman turned to leave, Ranma walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, making her turn her head to look back at him, "You could stay with us a little longer. If you would like that is, you seem like a nice person."  
  
The woman turned around to face Ranma fully, "I don't know, I really need to get some money to rebuild my restraunt."  
  
"I'm sure we'll take care of that along the way," Ranma seemed unmoving in his request for her to come with them.  
  
Jam nodded, "Alright, just as long as you keep that perverts away from me," she pointed to Ryouga who was wiping his nose as he returned to his feet.  
  
"Hey, listen you insane..." Ryouga was cut off as a foot belonging to an angry Chinese woman stopped just inches from his crotch, "yet nice, and even tempered, can't forget even tempered, woman." the man started laughing nervously as he backed away from the Chinese woman.  
  
Ranma chuckled, "Hey Ryouga, sorry about giving you a scare. That move took a lot out of me."  
  
Ryouga became serious, "It's not me you should apologize to, that person is sleeping right behind you."  
  
Looking behind himself, Ranma was about to walk over to her before he realized he was still pretty dirty. He asked Ryouga for some water to at least rinse some of the dust and blood off himself before he woke the girl up. He figured it would help her to know he was okay if there was not blood smeard all over his body. Once he washed up he went and knelt down next to the girl. He hesitated only because he was unsure of just how he was going to wake her up.  
  
"Hey," Ranma settled for trying to wisper in her ear, "Dizzy, it's me."  
  
Instead of her waking up right away, the man recieved a sleepy hug from the blue haired girl, "Hmm? Ranma?"  
  
Chuckling the man returned the embrace, "Glad to see you too, sorry for making you worry."  
  
The girl opened her eyes and when she saw the sight that greeted her she hugged the man even tighter. Smiling, Ranma returned the embrace. It had not been a long time since they had seen eachother, but to both of them it had been difficult to deal with the loss of companionship. Ranma realized that Dizzy was crying as he felt the warm tears soak through her shirt. Slowly he parted the hair that covered her eyes, looking into their redness. The girl was staring at him as if she did not dare to believe he was really there.  
  
"I missed you so much Ranma," the girl said, "we thought you died in that explosion. How could you make me worry like that?"  
  
Ranma smiled, it was hard to believe just how innocent this girl really was, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to save you."  
  
"Well please don't do that again," the girl burried her face in his chest, "I don't know if I could take losing you."  
  
The man looked down in surprise at the girl, it was true that his feelings for her had been creeping too much past friendship. At first he had rebelled against the feeling. Dizzy was just a Gear after all, he hated Gears, he had sworn an oath to destroy all of them. The more time he had spent in her presence the more his resolution towards that oath had been crumbling. He had said the words to Jam in anger but found that the truth behind them was undeniable. How could he condemn people just for how they were born.  
  
"Dizzy, you won't lose me," Ranma grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "I've been careless because I felt there was nothing to live for."  
  
"So you have something to live for now?"  
  
The man smiled at her and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, "You could say that."  
  
The two embraced, feeling comfort from the heat of eachothers body as they got closer. Ranma wiped the drying tears from the girls face. Then he remembered something and reached in his pocket to pull out the yellow ribbon he had found. It was tattered and ripped, but the girl took it anyway. She had not realized she lost the strip of cloth until now, and the fact that Ranma had even picked it up was worth more than any words he could say.  
  
"I thought you might want this, it's not in the best shape but..." he was cut off as the girl suddenly kissed him passionately.  
  
As the kiss broke, Dizzy looked slightly embarassed, "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I've never felt this way before."  
  
Ranma for his part was stunned, he had felt warmth flow through his body as their lips met. He could not believe he was letting this happen. When Akane had died he had thought she was the last one he would ever love. Now this girl was turning his world upside down, and without him even knowing what was happening.  
  
"I never thought anyone could make me feel this way again," Ranma closed his eyes and dropped his hands to his side, "I'm sorry, this is just too fast. I like you, it's just that I'm not sure if I'm ready to start another relationship."  
  
The man looked as if it pained him to even admit the fact to himself. Most of the time she had seen him, Ranma had either been confident or depressed. His mood right now was neither of those, it was almost regret that he could not return her feelings. Not that he did not have the same feelings, but more that he was just not ready to let those emotions show.  
  
Looking to the side, the girl seemed like she had been hurt by his declaration, "I understand, you still haven't gotten over you're first relationship."  
  
"It's nothing personal," Ranma looked uncomfortable, "I really do like you. I just don't think their has been enough time for me to recover."  
  
Ranma embraced the girl one last time, to show that he really did care for her. It was hard not to feel guilty over his actions, if she really did love him then he would have just broken her heart. It was hard for him to deal with the fact that she loved him in the first place, but to hurt her like that was something he had never wanted to do. Emotional pain was always the worst because there was not way to protect yourself until you had already been hurt by it.  
  
"Hey Ranma," Ryouga spoke up from his spot ten feet behind the man, "wasn't Justice destroyed in the original war."  
  
The man with the braided ponytail turned to look at Ryouga, "Yes, I think someone remade him, for what purpose I don't know."  
  
"Yes, he was destroyed," Jam chimed in, "who would want to rebuild such a horrible monster?"  
  
"That is what I was wondering," it was the police officer who had warned them ealier that walked out of the woods into the clear, "I see by the wreckage furthur back that you have already met Justice. I hope everyone is okay, after I saw you dispatch Sol I had to help him before fallowing you."  
  
"Ky," Jam was sounding like a school girl with a crush, "I'm so glad you could make it."  
  
The blond haired police officer blinked in surprise, "Glad? Jam, I mean no disrespect, but you should not be glad that I'm here. There are two people here whose lives are in jeopordy."  
  
"Why?" Ryouga asked.  
  
Ky brushed the hair out of his eyes and breathed out long and hard, "There are two Gears here now that would be great assets to the enemy."  
  
"Two Gears, where's the other one?" Ryouga asked suspiciously.  
  
Ranma sighed in defeat, he had wanted to keep it a secret but it looks like that was out of the question, "I'm the other one, of course I just found out a little while ago when I was fighting Justice. I don't know how it happened, so don't ask me."  
  
The news came as a shock to all present, they knew that Ranma was powerful but they had no idea he was another half-Gear. The only one it did not phase was Ky, who had expected the declaration even before he said anything. He was not happy he had to trust a Gear in the first place but he could see no way out of the situation. These two needed his help, and he was an officer of the law, even if he had faught against the Gears in the war and had become the leader of the Holy Knights he had to protect these two.  
  
"Yes, you two are the ones I refer to," Ky said as he walked toward the fire and looked into it.  
  
The night was slowly setting in and the wind had picked up, making the officer's clothes billow around him. His blue eyes were like frost as he looked into the dancing flame and frowned. There was no way for him to know why he had accepted this job except that someone was trying to kill these two and start the Gear war all over again. The recent resurection of the Gear Justice had made it clear that whoever wanted this war to start again was not playing around.  
  
"So Ranma got all his power from being a Gear?" Ryouga asked with a frown, "is there any indication of how long he has been like this?"  
  
"No, most of his power right now is purely his, though the Gear power has started to mix with his own. We have no record of him since the destruction of Japan," Ky answered truthfully, "best estimation by how he looks would be last five years. Based on his overall strength this would be most accurate, the stronger an innate ability of a person the long the Gear gene takes to procreate."  
  
Ranma looked stunned, "That was the year of the Saffron fight, how the hell did it happen then. Could it have been the old goul. So much happened during that time that there is a high chance I would not have realized it."  
  
Ky shook his head to show that Ranma's thinking was flawed, "No, it does not take effect like a drug, it has to be implanted in a person's genetics. Your Gear form has not made itself known, it could be a small change or a major change like her," he nodded towards Dizzy, "but when it comes it will be make itself known."  
  
Ranma looked at Ky neutrally, "So you have no idea when this will take effect?"  
  
"No, all the Gears we have dealt with have been engineered from birth," the blond police officer replied with a knowing glance, "that is the problem with the estimation. A lot of the enhancement also depends on your mindset. Certain emotions may trigger the change faster than normal."  
  
The dark haired man cursed, "I think it's already starting to happen. I was on the Mayship when my body suddenly started feeling like it was being turned inside out. I remember I was angry and depressed then, then with Justice the same thing happened. That was just anger though, but it was mixed with coldness. I think the more I fight with mixed emotions the faster the change takes effect. To make it worse it seems that I've been put in situations were I can't avoid the mix of emotions."  
  
"So you are becoming a Gear more and more with every fight," this declaration came from the Chinese woman they had almost forgot about, "should we worry about you hurting us?"  
  
Ky shifted to look at the woman and answered the question for everyone, "No, more than not the Gear personallity will be drowned out by his dominant personallity. In other words, with your will being as strong as it seems you will have little trouble overcoming the take Gear personallity."  
  
"So what do we do now?" Ryouga asked, "we are pretty much stuck with fighting no matter what. Is there any way we can take a stand against this threat."  
  
"Unfortunetly we have no information on the enemy," Ky answered, "All we can do is wait."  
  
By this time it had become dark out and the woods were only lit by the weakend fire. There was another rustling from the trees and a sillouete of a man walked into the clearing. As he came into view the group shifted to look at him. Ranma recognized the man as soon as he walked into the light. He did not attack right away, he waited for the man to make the first move. If he intended to hurt any of them he would be ready to react instead of running right into the attack. The man carried that sword over his back and had a lit cigarette in his mouth. He addressed them with a rough voice that seemed uncaring of what would happen as a direct or indirect action of him being there.  
  
"Relax kid," the man said, his eyes unseeable under the thick red headband, "I was testing you earlier. I have to say you gave me a run for my money."  
  
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End of Chapter 8. Wow, this chapter kind of got longer than I intended. The grammar should be a little better since I got a checker. Only one last chapter to go for the end of this book.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Hatred and Sarrow  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Relax kid," the man said, his eyes un seeable under the thick red headband, "I was testing you earlier. I have to say you gave me a run for my money."  
  
"Sol, what do you want?" Ky had shifted his hand to his sword, "I will not have you make a mockery of this situation. The enemy could be closing in any moment."  
  
The man curled his lips up in a smile, the cigarette following the motion of his mouth, "You think they have not already come for those two? They were fun to play with."  
  
"Hey, you're that guy who fought me before," Dizzy said suddenly, "why did you let me go."  
  
Sol looked over at the girl and took a drag of his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and walking up to her, "I let you go because you were whining and crying so much it was pathetic. You almost let me beat you. Don't get me wrong, you did fight well, but your fear of hurting me was just pathetic."  
  
Ranma heard this and tried to jump in to defend the girl, "You really are an ass, you attack her and then accuse her of crying too much."  
  
The man looked over at Ranma with a toothy grin, "Calm down kid, I'm not your enemy. I was just going after a bounty, I'm a bounty hunter, it's what we do."  
  
"If you came here just to insult us then you're not welcome," Ranma said with irritation.  
  
Sol lit another cigarette and put it between his lips, "I came here to tell you why you two are targeted actually," snapping his fingers, a flame sprang to life at the tip of Sol's index finger, "they want to use you," he said after he lit the cigarette, "recognizing your power, they want to use you to start another war with the humans," the man closed his hands and extinguished the flame.  
  
"So they want to use me as a weapon?"  
  
"That was what Gears were originally developed for," the man said as his smile fell from his face, "you are powerful but careless boy, displaying your power so flagrantly is begging for trouble."  
  
Ranma clenched his fist as he felt anger rise inside him once again, "Damn it, you were the one who attacked me. How could I know you were not the one who was after me."  
  
"Feh," Sol shrugged, "whatever."  
  
"Even with this being the case, the point is that a war is coming," Ky said to break up the tense situation, "If they gain control of either of you there will more bloodshed than the history of this place has ever seen."  
  
Ryouga looked at the night sky, "We should continue this tomorrow, it has been a long day and we need rest."  
  
The man in red snorted, "How careless, leaving yourself open to attack. I'll leave you to fend for yourself."  
  
The man walked off, eventually leaving only the trail of his glowing cigarette to be seen. Eventually even that glow faded and the rest of the group was left wondering what to make of his appearance. The stars were bright in the dark sky now and the group was feeling tired from the past few days. The only one who had trouble sleeping that night war Ranma. The words that man had said bothered him, he was being sought after because he was powerful. They wanted to use him to take over the world and kill all the humans on the planet. How could this group exist, and what kind of insanity was behind such a plan?  
  
He sat at the dying fire and looked at the dancing fire as if it would provide him with an answer. As the angry fire danced he though back to his past, every flame he saw reminded him of the death. Charred and blackened bodies lining the streets and red blood filling the streets with the stench of death. He remembered waking up in the street, laying in a pool of blood that was not fully his own. Exhaustion had taken him into unconsciousness, and he had blacked out after overexerting himself. The sickness he had felt when he realized what he was laying in caused him to throw up. His skin had been tainted red with the wet crimson liquid and the smell was stuck in his nose.  
  
No matter how hard he tried, the pain always found him, no matter the distance he ran. The harder he fought to forget the more he remembered of the day that changed his life. It was hard to remember the days before then, how carefree he had been. He had been the best and the strongest, he had been happy. Ranma Saotome use to smile. Now he was involved in a war that he had fallen into just because of his power. Circumstances permitting, he could have been happy with the life he had if everyone had not been killed. In all truth he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent them all from dying. Even if he had used everything he had and fought without fear he would not have been able to win.  
  
"Why would such pain be necessary?" He asked himself softly as he continued his staring contest with the fire, "To cause such bloodshed, and for what, because one country was afraid of another."  
  
He still remembered every day after the annihilation of Japan as if it had happened just yesterday. Walking dirty and directionless through the rubble of what had been his home. Helping survivors how he could, trying to repent for all the wrongs he had done. Broken bones, people died in his hands, wounds too far progressed for him to do anything but ease the pain. He had trained all his life to fight for his honor and for the ones he cared. Now the fighting did nothing to ease the pain of the sick and dying he tried to help.  
  
Ranma had trouble sleeping, every minute he slept he could hear the screaming of people in pain. How was he supposed to get past the agony of those days if he was reminded of them constantly. Looking back at Dizzy who was asleep directly behind him, he sighed and frowned. She had caused so many complications in his life that he felt a great weight on his shoulders. It was not the girl who was the cause of the burden, but what she represented to him. The question was not if he could love her. Ranma already knew he had fallen for the girl even if he was not ready to show the feelings. What he was nervous of was whether he could keep her from being hurt.  
  
He turned back to the fire and put an open hand inches from the flame, "I wish I could feel warmth again, my feelings have grown so cold that I'm not sure if Dizzy's love would be a blessing. Why can't I just get on with my life?"  
  
With the question, a vision of a girl with short dark hair, wearing a gi, came to his mind. He knew the face well from his previous life. Even after she was gone, Akane weighed heavily on his mind and his emotions. It was because he had not fully got over her that he could not accept Dizzy. It shamed him to know that he had trouble admitting his love until she had died. There was nothing glorious about the death either. It was a slash and a spray of blood as she collapsed to the ground, life already gone from her eyes as she fell. He could still feel his aching throat as he screamed out to her for was seemed like an indefinite amount of time.  
  
Wind swirled suddenly and he felt a chill run down his spine, not evil, just cold. Standing he looked in the direction of the wind and he yawned as he walked slightly out of the camp. As he neared the edge of the camp he saw a shimmering figure standing there in white. Rubbing his eyes from the tiredness he tried to make sure he was not seeing things. In front of him he saw the girl he was just thinking about, glowing brightly in the darkness of night. She was dressed in white and her hands where folded down in front of her. Ranma was too stunned to move as she walked up to him and put a hand on his chest. He felt the area she put her hand on grow warm even in the cold of night.  
  
"Hello Ranma, I'm glad to see you," the figure of Akane smiled at him warmly.  
  
The man felt his throat tighten as he tried to reply, "How... Akane, I've missed you so much."  
  
She nodded, "I know, I've been watching you from above. It seems you are well loved by the gods. They have allowed all those who died and cared for you to watch you. My time here is short so I have to make this quick. I came here to help you put the past behind you, we have all seen your pain."  
  
"I miss all of you so much," Ranma said as tears fell from his eyes, "every day I live is painful without you."  
  
Akane moved close, embracing him as best her shimmering form would allow, "I know, but you must move on, there are others here who need you now. Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at Dizzy. You hesitate because of me don't you?"  
  
The man did not answer verbally, he only looked to the side sadly, Akane continued, "She needs you right now, and I know you need her. Please forget about me, we have lived our life and we are happy with what we have done. I have no regrets."  
  
"I know I need to get over you," Ranma said, "but it's easier said than done. Watching you die for a second time that day, only the second time I knew you could not come back. All because of how scared I was."  
  
"We were all scared," Akane said, "you just reacted differently than we did. What's done is done, you have to live for the future and forget about us. Please, move on so we don't have to worry about you."  
  
The man nodded and Akane released her hold on him, "Okay, thank you Akane. I still love you, it was good seeing you."  
  
Smiling the girl started to fade, "I know, it was good to see you also Ranma. Goodbye," and with that she was gone.  
  
He sighed and closed his eyes, when he opened them he was laying on the ground, and the sun was just rising over the horizon. Sitting up with a yawn he rubbed his eyes and blinked. Had it all been a dream, or had she really come back to talk to him? Even if it was a dream he had to take it as a sign to move on with his life. Ranma was positive now that they were happy, even if they had died.  
  
Looking around he found that he was outside the campsite, just beyond the sight of everyone else. Getting to his feet, he walked back towards the site and found that everyone was gone. Their belongings were still there yet they were not present in the camping grounds. Sitting down he waited for them to come back, they probably went looking for some food. Looking at the sky, Ranma cursed as he saw the wispy grey clouds gathering overhead. Rain was on its way, he would either have to find shelter or risk revealing his curse. From the way the land looked it looked like the later would be his only real option.  
  
Ranma felt the ground shake suddenly and jumped into a defensive position. Whatever was making the shaking was moving in his direction slowly. He could hear trees falling in its path as it kept moving towards him. Ranma was starting to get the feeling that whatever was causing this was going to give him trouble. As the shaking increased, the tree fell near the clearing to reveal a huge man. Muscle rippled over his body in great slabs, he wore jeans and no shirt. Around his neck was a metal collar and on his hands were gloves made of metal. His brown hair was medium length and pulled back in a ponytail behind his head. The man had milky white eyes, making it impossible to Ranma to know what the man was feeling.  
  
"Sorry, I kind of got lost," the man proclaimed in a deep voice, "have you seen a Gear girl around her?"  
  
Ranma looked up at the man in surprise before narrowing his eyes, "What do you want with Dizzy?"  
  
"So you have seen her," the man lifted his huge fist and clenched it, "where is she?"  
  
The man summoned his aura, "I don't know, and even if I did you won't get your hands on her."  
  
"You misunderstand," the giant said, "she is in danger."  
  
"I know," Ranma let his aura grow larger, "and I'm the one protecting her."  
  
The huge man looked confused, "Shouldn't you be with her then?"  
  
"Cut the crap," Ranma yelled, "you can't trick me into handing her over so easily. If you want her you'll have to go though me."  
  
The giant shrugged his shoulders and walked towards Ranma slowly, his slowness was only due to the fact that he had immense power. Ranma knew that this fight would rely on his speed over everything else. If this man hit him once it might as well be over. To onlookers, he would have seemed to disappear and reappear in front of the man.  
  
Ranma let loose with a punch that could have broken concrete, the man hardly seemed to take notice. Jumping back quickly, he thought of ways to fight the monster with something other than brute strength. Letting loose with a ball of energy, Ranma waited to see if it would have any affect on the huge man. The energy was blocked by two huge metal gloves.  
  
"I came to protect the girl," the giant man said, "why do you insist on fighting?"  
  
"Give me some proof that you don't want to hurt Dizzy," Ranma began charging for another attack on the big man.  
  
Putting his hands back down, "All I can offer is my words, if you are protecting her I can understand the distrust."  
  
"Potemkin?" Dizzy's voice sounded suddenly from the edge of the clearing.  
  
Looking over at her, Ranma fixed her with a questioning stare, "You know this guy?"  
  
The blue haired girl nodded, "Yes, he helped me the first time we met. Why were you fighting?"  
  
"I thought he wanted to attack you," Ranma admitted sheepishly, "it's hard to believe a big guy like him was not sent to attack someone."  
  
Potemkin shifted his weight slightly, "In all actuality I came because there is news of a Gear army being massed near here. I was sent to get Dizzy to safety so this army could not accomplish their goal."  
  
"I understand," Ranma said, "but I promised to protect her and I will protect her. I feel better protecting her than handing her over to some random person."  
  
The big man nodded, "Very well, I will have to make sure you do keep her safe though. The only way I can do this is if I travel with you."  
  
Ranma could feel the irritation rising at this situation, they now had another person traveling with them. This was supposed to be just him and Dizzy in the first place but it turned out that this was not feasible. There was little he could do to prevent these people from showing up, and the fact of the matter is he knew he would need the help. As powerful as he was, even he had his limits and the fighting had forced him to those limits once or twice already. If they had not showed up then he would have probably failed in his proposal to keep Dizzy safe. If Ryouga had not been there to get the girl away from Justice, that was a good example.  
  
"Fine, whatever," Ranma said with his teeth grit, "do what you have to."  
  
By the time the conversation had ended, the rest of the group had come back. There was no food in their arms so that theory was out of the question. Ranma supposed they were looking for him, it would not be surprising to know. Everyone was a little on edge with the knowledge that two powerful Gears were wanted because of their power. They were about to say something to Ranma when a giant explosion sounded in the distance. Everyone looked to see fire rising above the tops of the trees in billowing columns.  
  
"The Gear army is starting to attack," Potemkin said as he stared, "Justice will be leading them. Damn these people and their stupidity."  
  
Ranma was not looking at the fire for long before he took off in the direction of it. He could hear the yelling for him to stop but he paid no attention to it. This could be real and it could be a trap, all he knew was that if Justice was there he was going to kill him. This army was the same was the one that attacked his home and killed his family. There was no way he would allow something so gruesome to happen again, he was going to put an end to this.  
  
Unknown to the man, he was being followed by the group he was running away from. He had a lead on them, but they were making their way towards where he was going. Moving as fast as they could, they followed the trail the man left through the woods. Two hours later they arrived at a clearing where they saw leveled buildings and dead bodies laying on the ground. In the center of the town was a mass of Gears, some laying on the ground and a large number pulsing around the center square. As they made their way closer they could hear someone shouting in anger as Gear bodies flew in random directions.  
  
As good as he was, Ranma could tell that he was hopelessly outnumbered by these Gears. They lacked basic fighting skills and yet the sheer numbers of them were overwhelming him. There was one trick he had not used lately though, his life energy had not been projected onto these beings yet. Summoning his aura he started to shoot softball sized balls of energy out in every direction. Gears started flying around like gnats as the energy hit them.  
  
"You will not prevent me from killing Justice," Ranma yelled as he hit multiple Gears with an overly huge ball of energy.  
  
This fight was different from the first one because these Gears were commanded to kill him. In the original fight he had not been attacked because they had been ordered to kill humans only. With them attacking him now he was holding nothing back in dispatching these creatures. Then he started seeing Gears fall where he had not him them before, and there was the rest of the people who had been with him. Though glad for the help, he was afraid that it still might not be enough to defeat them all. The only way to stop them was to find and kill Justice, but he had burred himself behind the ocean of fighting Gears.  
  
With a giant leap about thirty feet into the air, Ranma landed on the head of a crowd of Gears and crushed them under his weight. He continued with this until he had actually reached the Commander of Gears. He just stood and looked at Ranma, without reaction, the man was about to run up and attack when he felt something scratch his. It was only then that he realized he had allowed his anger to cloud his senses. Looking down, he wondered why they had just given him a scratch, then he started feeling woozy.  
  
Vision blurring he dropped to his knees before shakily passing out and falling to the ground hard. None of this was noticed by the one he had left fighting the Gears. Ranma was bound and taken into a truck before anyone could see that the man was not there. As they drove off, the Gears withdrew and the group was left wondering what had happened. Then they noticed that Ranma was not present.  
  
"What happened, where did he go?" Potemkin asked.  
  
Ryouga looked around until he saw a wet spot on the ground that was out of the way from where they had been fighting. Walking over to it he bent down and smeared some on his fingers, smearing it around he nodded and stood once again.  
  
"This is his blood, my best guess is that this was a trap to capture him," Ryouga said as he turned back to the group.  
  
Ky sheathed his sword and looked at the man, "Then we have failed."  
  
Ryouga shook his head, "No, we have not failed, I just wish we had some kind of lead."  
  
"You could try the Assassins Guild," came a suggestion from an unknown source.  
  
Turning, they saw a man in a grey suit with a pipe in his mouth and a short red cape on. He was tall and had his short brown hair parted on the side, giving him a clean appearance. A trimmed brown beard ran across the man's face. He stood calmly as he watched the group turn and regard him with distrust.  
  
"Where is the Assassins Guild?" Ryouga asked.  
  
The man chuckled, "Really, how rude the young are, if you want an answer ask the officer over there."  
  
Everyone looked at Ky as he blinked in surprise, "I know where the Guild is but I don't know why they would want a Gear like Ranma, Mr. Slayer."  
  
"I think you do know, you just don't want to admit it," Slayer said starting to walk away, "you better start looking for him, before they carry out their plan."  
  
Nodding, Ky told the group of his plan to rescue the boy, or was about to until he noticed that Dizzy was missing. With a sigh, the police officer revised his plane. He was sure that the girl had gone off without anyone noticing to try to rescue Ranma. She did know where the Assassins Guild was, however she did not know what kind of trouble awaited her there. It was even more important now that they got moving so they could make sure the Guild did not get their hands on both Gears.  
  
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End of Chapter 9. After a long wait I have finally finished this. I feel like this Story is coming to a close, maybe a little quicker than I had originally intended. Who knows though, I may try a sequel when I am done. Though I am not sure how that will work.  
  
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	4. SandH041012

Sorrow and Hatred

I own none of these characters, I am just a humble

writer with an idea.

Book 4

Chapter 10

"His transformation is almost complete" he heard a voice say, "the trigger has not been found but once it is we can start the programming."

Something was wrong with his body, he felt sluggish, almost like he was drunk. He tried to move his arm but found that it was locked in place by something. His eyes opened slowly and he could blearily make out a metal ring encircling his wrist and bolted to the table he was laying on. Around him lights shone brightly with sporadic patterns that blinked and pulsed. His head was covered by a metal band, making him feel heavy and slow with its weight.

"Sir, he is awake," a man said frantically.

A man in shadows replied, "Give him more sedative, we cannot have him resisting."

"Yes, sir."

Ranma felt something pierce his neck and his vision started to grow blurry once again. With some amount of strength he fought the sedative off. The person standing over him prepared to inject more of the sedative into him. With great effort Ranma used his strength to tear his arm free of the shackle and grabbed the syringe, shattering it into pieces.

"Stop it," the man growled out, voice sounding thick and tired, "I will not have people putting drugs in me."

The doctor frantically shouted at his colleges, "Start the restriction system."

There was a buzzing sound seconds before electricity arched through the headpiece on Ranma's head. The man screamed and went stiff, arching his back, as the electricity ran through his body. Ranma collapsed back on the table as the juice was cut to the headpiece.

"All right, I will now inject more sedative," the doctor said as he brought out a new syringe.

Just as he was about to inject the liquid into Ranma's neck, a guard came running up, "Doctor, we have an intruder, I believe it is the girl you are looking for."

Sighing the doctor cursed, "Whatever, I'll take care of this. I'll take care of this man later."

The doctor removed his gloves and walked out of the room in a brisk pace. Ranma could see the man in shadow following the doctor out of the room. He idly wondered why they would be so careless about leave him unguarded in this room. Then he noticed a group of black and white monitors in the room that showed a group of guards massing in tactical areas. They were dressed in heavy armor and their guns were all big enough to take out a tank. He continued to watch with interest as he scanned through the different monitors. Then he saw something he did not want to believe, a girl with wings and a tail was sneaking in through one window.

"Damn, why did you come here Dizzy?" the man muttered.

"That girl is stupid, she will be slaughtered," someone said from beside him.

Ranma looked over at the man, "If anyone in this base so much as touches her I'll kill you all."

The man laughed at Ranma's comment, "I do not know if you have noticed but you are in no position to make threats, man."

Ignoring the comment, Ranma turned back to the monitor to see that Dizzy was about to walk into a trap. Just as the guards were about to round the corner, she stopped and jumped into a room near bye. When they came around the corner they walked right by the room she had taken cover in. Ranma smiled inwardly, it seemed that this girl was not so incompetent in fighting after all. Mostly likely it was her desire not to fight that gave her the label of a weak girl.

There was a sudden alarm as more guards scattered, however this was to a different location. On a different monitor was a picture of the rest of his travel group as they broke in the front entrance. That was a dangerous thing to do against the Guild, but it was distracting them from Dizzy. The assassins were unused to dealing with this many enemies of this caliber at one time. Nobody had dared to attack them openly in so long that they were caught unaware. The rag-tag group cut through them easily, though they had yet to meet any of the more powerful members. The group made their way farther into the compound, defeating a good number of assassins on the way.

Then something happened that nobody had thought about, a trap made itself known with a sound of metal settling heavily on the ground. Without warning a thick steel door suddenly slammed down and boxed the group in. Even with Potemkin's strength they could not break through the walls. Then they heard the sound of metal gears turning and the ceiling started to close down on them. As it came down there was the sound of hydraulics and smooth metal spikes suddenly stuck out of the ceiling. Then Ranma turned his head to look at another monitor, searching to see if Dizzy was okay.

When he found her she was just outside the door, two guards had been knocked out near her. She threw open the door and Ranma found light suddenly flooding the room. Looking over he saw that the door she had pulled open was the door to the room that held him. She started to run over to him but was stopped suddenly as steel bars shot from the ground and stopped her progress.

"INITIATE COUNTER MEASURES, SECURITY MODE: NON-PREJUDICED," a computerized voice sounded form the intercom.

Ranma watched in horror as giant Gatling cannons raised from the ground and aimed at the girl. Quickly he looked to see how his trapped friend were fairing in the spike room. The quick glance told him that they were not doing any better than the first time. Ryouga and Ky were staring defiantly at the spiked ceiling as they hid the Chinese chef, Jam, behind them. Potemkin did not seem to show much emotion at all as the ceiling got closer to him.

Looking back at Dizzy, Ranma could see the Gatling cannons starting to spin up. He was sure she could use her power to block a lot of the bullets but probably not all them. He watched helpless as the guns let loose, Dizzy wrapped her wings around her for protection. It seemed to go on forever as dust was kicked up from the exploding bullets as they impacted with the wings. Ranma went numb as all he could do was watch the guns wind down as they ran out of bullets.

Then he saw the blood, not much, but it was enough to make something in his mind click. His aura came forth unbidden as he felt his numbness replaced by anger. A deep growl rose from his throat and grew in direct proportion to the size of his angry aura. His blue eyes turned red as his skin took on a slightly red tinge and leathery wings sprung from his back. His skin hardened and took on a scaly look and his fingers elongated and took on a pointed look, more like claws than fingers. He tore through his shirt as his body mass increased and his feet grew larger and took on a talon look. In short it looked like someone had combined a human with a dragon.

"INITIATING AUTO-CONTROL SYSTEM, MAXIMUM POWER," the computer automatically started juice running through the metal headgear.

The new Gear-formed Ranma did not seem affected as he continued to sit up. Sliding off the table, he reached up and took the headgear off, electricity still flowing through it but not affecting him. Blinking he turned it over and seemed to study the device for a second.

"WARNING, SYSTEM OVERLOAD," the computer said, "SELF-DESTRUCTION IMMANENT IN 5, 4, 3, 2..."

The dragon Gear looked at the crushed remains of the device in his hands. Opening his hands he let the pieces of metal fall from his hand and spread on the ground. Almost casually he walked over to the metal bars and swiped at them, they shredded like so much butter. The once man walked over to the hurt girl who was kneeling on the ground and holding her leg where she had been shot. The Gear looked down at the girl, kneeling down next to her and putting a hand on the leg.

"Ranma?" the girl asked.

The Gear looked at Dizzy with something that seemed to border on sorrow, "Yes, Dizzy," his voice came out as a kind of half growl as he spoke for the first time in his new form.

"Oh my, what happened to you?" the Gear girl asked.

Ranma fixed her with a look that was almost bitter-sweet, "I changed into my Gear form apparently. We better get you out of here."

"Where are the others, I think they were planning on rescuing you," the girl asked suddenly.

The former man shot a glance over at the monitors in panic, he had totally forgotten about them. From the look of things it was not going to be an easy task to rescue them. Potemkin was holding the ceiling up but he had a spike jutting though one hand as a result. His blood was dripping to the floor and he was losing strength fast. Ranma had no idea where they were and was not sure he could even make it in time. Then an idea came to him.

Walking over to an intercom, Ranma clicked it on and spoke into it, "Ryouga, remember the breaking point."

Inside the room, the group looked up at the speaker in surprise, the voice was unfamiliar to them, however it offered advice of some kind. Whatever the breaking point was to Ryouga, the man seemed to come up with an idea. He yelled at Potemkin to let go of the ceiling, and though the big man questioned the order he did so. Ryouga jumped and yelled something that nobody in the room could understand. The man touched the ceiling between the spikes and came back down. For a second nothing happened and the group was worried that the plan did not work. Then the ceiling shuttered and broke apart into dust, fragments came falling from high, having no affect on the Ryouga or Potemkin. Both of them covered Ky and Jam until the roof had finished breaking up and the dust settled.

The doors opened, caused by the roof shattering making a glitch in the system. The group exited and found two figures coming down the hallway. One was walking, the other was being carried by the former who looked to be a strange mix between a man and a red dragon. The group prepared to attack the creature, who was holding Dizzy in his arms, until they realized he was holding her protectively. The girl was passed out and there was blood running from a crudely bound wound on her leg.

"What happened to Dizzy? Who are you?" Ky asked with a little anger showing in his voice.

The creature looked at him with narrowed eyes and flapped it's wings with irritation, "Really officer, this is not the time for this, she is hurt and in need of medical attention. Now step aside or I'll be forced to move you."

With surprise, the police officer stepped to the side and let the creature pass. The group looked as the creature walked past them without a care for any of them. Its attention was focused on the wellbeing of the girl in it's arms. As it walked away, Ryouga followed it, trying to confirm if his suspicions were real.

Once they stepped outside the Guild headquarters, he addressed the dragon man, "Ranma, what happened?"

Ranma turned and looked at Ryouga with a neutral expression, "I lost control and my latent Gear trait activated."

"You care for her that much," it was a declaration not a question, "you have not changed, Ranma. You are still more emotional than you like to let on."

The dragon man turned away, "I have to leave and try to find somewhere that will take care of Dizzy."

Smiling, Ryouga walked up to him, "No you don't, you forget that I have traveled a lot. That being the case I have gotten hurt a lot and learned to fixed my own wounds."

The Gear looked down at Ryouga with surprise, "You'll help her out, even if she is a Gear."

"Think of it more as helping a friend out," Ryouga said with a wave of his hand, "come back inside and we can take a look at the wound. I have supplies in my backpack."

"Yes, thank you."

The two of them walked back inside and found a room where they could take a look at the wound. Helping to laying the girl down on a flat metal table, Ryouga unwrapped the binding on her leg. Luckily the bullet had only grazed the girl, there was no arterial damage. He only had supplies to take care of a minor wound, this one would only require cleaning and stitching. She did not suffer so much blood loss that she would be down for long either. Considering her Gear genes and how minor the wound was, she would be better within two or three days.

"I need you to hold the wound together while I stitch it," Ryouga said to Ranma, "there is not much damage so stitching it should be okay. Just wait until I need you, I have to clean the wound right now to make sure it does not get infected."

Ranma nodded and watched as Ryouga tenderly wiped down the wound with alcohol. He cleaned up around the wound, his hands covered in the girls blood, then motioning for Ranma to help him. The man grabbed a needle and some thread as the Gear took a hold of the wound and held it together. Ryouga used a lighter he had in his pack to heat the needle before he looped a thin piece of clear thread through the needle head and cut a length of it. He proceeded to run the needle back and forth just under the skin until he had totally sealed the wound. He cleaned the wound one last time before going to a nearby sink and washing the blood off his hands. It had taken awhile to finish the surgery but they had gotten the blood stopped.

"She will be fine, she is lucky," Ryouga turned the water off and dried his hands, "just a few more inches and she may not have been able to walk again, or it could have hit an artery."

Ranma looked down at her, sadness in his now inhuman eyes, "I should have been there, I was so stupid to let my anger control me then. Damn! Why am I so stupid, I almost lost another person I care about."

"Don't you dare start this again," Ryouga said as he took the man by the throat and brought him close, "don't think I don't know how easy you could hurt me right now, but this is for your own good. You have to get it through that thick skull of yours that you cannot change the past. You live the life you are given and hope for the best, if you don't you self-destruction. You got me?"

The Gear was too surprised by the words to do anything about the hand around his neck, "Ryouga..."

"You are too caught up in the past to see a future," Ryouga continued as he looked the Gear in the eyes, "that is why you are so suicidal. Believe me, I know what you are going though."

Ranma felt the hand leave his neck and he looked down at Ryouga to see them man looking at him neutrally, "I know Ryouga, you're right, I guess I just needed to hear it from someone."

"I'm going to fill the others in on what happened," Ryouga said as he walked out, "you probably want to stay with her, so I'll be going now."

As Ryouga left without another word, Ranma turned back to Dizzy and took a seat on a chair nearby. The room was small and made almost completely out of metal. With the only exception being the cabinets that hung over the sink. Ranma looked over at Dizzy as he got bored looking at the room, there was a limited amount of time that a person could look at a metal walled room. He watched as her chest rose and fell with a rhythmic pulsing. Sliding the chair closer to the girl, Ranma looked at her closed eyes.

Many times he had seen them, only now did he register just how much he missed them. Their reassuring redness, so shy one moment and so willful the next. Her small mouth was slightly opened as she breathed in and out. Ranma cupped one side of her face with his and, then ran it up so that he eventually pushed her blue hair out of the way, revealing her whole face. Ranma smiled for a second before closing his eyes and shaking his head as if trying to clear something from his head.

"Dizzy, I'm sorry," Ranma said as he took his hand away from her face and leaned back in the chair, "You got hurt because of me."

Ranma felt his eyes get heavy, he accepted the sleep that wanted to take over. Everyone had a long day, and the Guild had been dispersed so much that there was no way they could get back together. With their most powerful warriors missing, they had not chance of taking the headquarters back. This was probably the most secure place they could be right now. As the Gear wrapped his wings around himself he felt sleep overtake him and he drifted into unconsciousness.

End of Chapter 10. I have to say that I am liking the way that Ranma's Gear form has turned out. I know it is a drastic change, the reason will be explained later. As for Dizzy getting hurt like that, I know some people are going to not like that. Trust me, I know how much some people like her, but I figured that Ranma needed a valid reason to let himself go.

Chapter 11

Two days passed with little happening, Ranma secluded himself in the room with Dizzy. Ranma had become human again after the first day of going to sleep. The only difference he could tell after that was the two bracers that seemed to be attached to his skin. He also noticed that there was tattoo on the palm of his right hand that was done in oriental style. He noticed these while he secluded himself in the room with Dizzy, Ryouga occasionally came and gave him food so he would not starve. There had been no visible change in the girl, and Ranma was starting to get worried. As he looked at Dizzy, he saw her start to tremble and her eyes slowly opened.

The man stood quickly and rushed over to her, "Dizzy, you're okay, I was getting worried."

"Ranma? Where am I, what happened?" the girl said as she tried to sit up.

The man helped her sit up and hugged her, "Yes, it's me Dizzy. You got hurt when you tried to rescue me, we are in a room inside the Assassin Guild."

"How long have I been out?" The Gear girl asked as she returned his hug.

Ranma smiled as he looked at her, "It's been two days, Ryouga helped to patch you up."

Just as he said that, the door opened and Ryouga stood with a tray of food and water. Actually he had two trays in his hand and he set them down in front of each of them. Ranma looked at him in surprise before taking the food.

"Ryouga..."

The man waved off the words with a serious look, "I know what you're thinking. Why is a man who hates Gears helping two such be creatures. The simple answer is that one is my friend, and the other is important to my friend. My hate for them was not misplaced, and I still hate them, but I am not so hard headed to think that there is no difference."

Ranma smiled and put his hand on Ryouga's shoulder, "Thank you for understanding. And thank you for talking sense into me."

Ryouga nodded, "If you don't take care of her though, I will have to beat the crap out of you. You understand that don't you?"

As the man smiled, Ranma chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll take care of her. We still have one last obstacle to overcome before we're done."

The man nodded, "Yes there is, and we will all fight it together."

"I'm glad you're here Ryouga," Ranma said, "as much as we hated each other when we were younger, I thought we would become bitter enemies."

"Wow, this is good," Dizzy said suddenly as she took a bite of the food that had been offered, "did you cook this Ryouga?"

The two looked over at Dizzy in surprise, Ryouga answered, "No, Jam did. She was a little confused when I asked for two servings but I persuaded her to make more."

"Well tell her it's very good," Dizzy said.

"I will, Dizzy," Ryouga said, "I guess I'll let the two of you talk.

The man walked out the door, leaving Ranma and the blue haired half Gear girl alone. Ranma looked at his food and picked up a piece to try it. Dizzy was right, the food was very good, Ranma began eating as if it was the first meal he had eaten in three days. The reason he ate this way had a lot to do with the fact that it was the first meal he had in three days. When he was finished he set the tray aside and wiped his mouth.

"Ranma," Dizzy said when she had finished, "did you stay with me for those two days?"

The man nodded, "Yes, I wanted to make sure nothing bad happened."

"Do you blame yourself?" Dizzy asked as she stared at him.

The man suddenly had the urge to look away, "How couldn't I, you got hurt trying to save me. You wouldn't have even been hurt if you did not have to come save me in the first place. All because I let my anger control me."

Dizzy grabbed Ranma's hand, causing him to look at her again, "You blame yourself far too much, I was hurt because of my actions not yours."

Ranma moved his hands so he was grasping hers, "It was my being captured that made you act the way you did."

"And if you want to go that far back, it was you meeting me that caused you to be captured," Dizzy replied with a satisfied grin.

The man looked surprised before he returned the grin, "I guess that's true. I really have to stop thinking like this, it's not healthy."

Dizzy was caught unaware as Ranma suddenly reached his arms around her. She blushed as the man hugged her tightly, she felt the warmth of his body press against hers and felt comfort from it. Closing her eyes she leaned into him, putting her hands on his chest as she did so. In the middle of this scene the door swung open and in the arch stood Ky. The police officer looked surprised as both the man and the girl grew red in the face.

"Sorry for interrupting, but there is something I have to tell you," Ky said as the two broke apart reluctantly, "I have learned the location of the rebuilt Justice. The Gear has been seen entering a small warehouse just on the outskirts of Spain. The actual location is condemned and there is little information about it. It is a great place to keep hidden from the world if he wanted to."

Ranma looked at Ky with not apparent emotion showing, then he brushed past the officer without a word. The door closed behind him and the officer was stuck alone in the room with the blue haired girl. Dizzy looked at him with the innocence that most people had become use to when the saw her. Ky sighed and turned to leave the room, leaving the girl alone in the room.

As the blond man exited the room, he found Ranma waiting for him with his arms crossed. His long dark hair hung in his eyes and his mouth was set in a straight line. The hallway was empty except for the two of them and Ky was beginning to feel oddly vulnerable. This man reminded Ky a lot of Sol when he stood there with his mouth in a thin line. For a second Ky wondered if Sol had gone through the same pain this young man had. They looked the same age but sometimes Ky could swear Sol sounded older than he actually was.

"I can't go with you," Ranma said, "Dizzy needs me, and she cannot travel on her wounded leg."

Ky's eyes widened in surprise, "You don't want to destroy Justice?"

Ranma looked up to let his blue eyes show under his long hair, "I do, but now is not the time for me to leave. I'm not going to be so careless enough to think she will be okay. She is strong but she is too innocent to protect herself. Besides, Justice will eventually come for her and we will be ready."

Ky stared for a second, "You are right, she does need protection and you are the best one to offer it. We will go after Justice."

"No," the two turned to see Sol Badguy in his usual fighting uniform walk out of the shadows, "the boy has the right idea, or rather I should say the Gear has the right idea."

Ranma grit his teeth as he heard the words form from Sol's mouth, "How could you tell?"

Sol's grin bordered on evil, "That is my secret, the important thing is that I know what you are. You were a prototype for people trying to harness the energy of life. All Gears have a certain affinity for an element of nature. The company that made the Gears easily used their talent to create the other powers but they were stumped when it came to using life energy. One scientist came up with the idea to try implanting a gene into a human that had an affinity for using this energy."

The man paused and let this sink in, Ranma blinked and looked confused, "So you mean that I was their test subject?"

"Yes," Sol said still with a grin, though less sinister, "though nobody but the scientist knew this. It was so experimental that he did not dare tell the others, however bad the consequences were he could not let it be known that he was responsible. This gene was implanted without the knowledge of the patient and it grew through he years, waiting for the trigger."

"So what does this have to do with waiting for Justice?" Ky asked.

"It's easy, Justice wants to try to brainwash the two of them and kill all the humans," Sol said as he took the sword that rested on his shoulder and threw it into the ground so it stuck straight up, "of course he has no idea that there is no way he can control these two. The fact that they had to have the willpower to even become a Gear in the first place will prevent this from happening."

The three of them looked down the hallway as they heard frantic running down the corridor. Ryouga appeared, running as fast as he could down the hall. The man came to a stop in front of them and bent over to try to catch his breath. Once he caught his breath and stood straight he turned to the three of them.

"There is an army of Gears," the man said with frantic words, "Potemkin and Jam are holding them off so far, and the samurai girl Baiken happened on the scene. She is also helping but they won't last long."

Sol cursed, "Damn, it's too soon. Boy, go back and help the three, we will be there soon. Ranma will stay here and protect Dizzy from Justice."

Before anyone could object, Sol took off running towards the direction of the entrance. He was not going to let the Gears ruin everything he had tried to accomplish. The whole thing had been his fault and he was trying to repent for his mistake. The only way he could do that was to help the new breed of Gears live. Besides, he felt a weird obligation to keep the girl Gear alive even if he did not know why. As he exited the headquarters, with Ryouga and Ky right behind him, he saw a vision that he had not expected. There was thousands of Gears marching towards the building, Justice was nowhere in sight but he was sure the Gear had to be close.

"We have to keep the Gears back," Ky yelled from his position behind Sol, "it looks like the others are tiring."

Ryouga nodded and the two ran into the fray, trying to help their friends. Sol was about to follow when he felt a twinge at the edge of his consciousness. With horror he realized that this was only a distraction and ran back towards where Ranma and Dizzy where. When he got there he found Ranma pounding on the metal door, trying to break it down. Sol slowed and tried to help the man break the door down but it would not budge.

"Damn, this door is too strong," Sol said, "I hate to do this, but it's the only way. Dragon Install!"

There was a flash of red around the man as his full power unlocked and everything went red. Ranma was not sure what happened but he had felt an immense wave of energy when the man did that. Apparently he had been hiding his true power, and if he let his out why should Ranma hold back. With a white flash, the man summoned his Gear form and helped Sol knock the door down.

As the heavy door fell inward, the two were granted with a view of Justice standing over a frightened Dizzy. The girl was looking at the Gear with obvious fear in her eyes as he raised his hand to strike. Within a split second, Ranma tackled the full Gear and started to pummel the thing with all his strength. Each hit left a deep gash from his claws in Justice's exterior. Even with all the damage, Ranma did not let up his attack once. He would not let the Gear gain any ground or have any chance to fight back. Then Ranma felt something wrap around his waist and the next thing he knew he was thrown against a wall.

As he got up he saw Sol escorting Dizzy out of the room to a safer place. Growling, Ranma charged the Gear and performed a sliding kick to the Gears feet. Justice stumbled but managed to recover from the sweep, clawing at the man as he was on the ground. Ranma brought his hands up and the claws hit his arms, where his skin was thicker. Justice kicked at him right after and Ranma slid into the wall that he had just picked himself up from. With a grunt of frustration, Ranma jumped to his feet and let fly a ball of energy from his right hand. At least he intended it to be a ball, it turned out to be a stream of energy in the shape of a dragon.

The beam hit the Gear with enough force to throw it back into the wall behind it. It was beginning to occur to Ranma that this room may be too small of a place for a proper fight. The only reason he did not move it was the fact that it gave him a better advantage for maneuvering. It was obvious that Ranma was doing a lot of damage to the Gear, but the man knew that Justice was not even close to done. If he wanted to stop this he would have to press his advantage. Ranma released another blast of dragon energy at Justice and then started clawing away at the Gear once again. With a final blow, the wall that had weakened from all the previous blows finally gave way. Even the steel could not resist the strength of the two Gears fighting within its confines.

Justice was barely alive as he lay before Ranma, this did not stop Ranma from his relentless pursuit. The fact that Justice was a machine just helped him to let loose with all his strength. The only thing that bothered Ranma was the fact that Justice did not seem as strong as people had told him. Whether it was because he was a prototype for a new kind of Gear did not matter to him. All that mattered was finally defeating Justice. With his claw extended, Ranma drove his hand through the Gear and watched as blue electricity shot out. Slowly the light faded from the Gear's eyes and Ranma withdrew his hand with slow satisfaction.

"Finally, I have finally laid my demons to rest," Ranma said as he let his energy subside and he changed back into his human form.

Turning his back on the wreckage that was left of the Gear, Ranma started to walk away. Turning one last time he wanted to make sure that the monster was not going to get back up. Seeing that Justice had not moved, Ranma turned forward again and walked out of the Assassin Guild.

End of Chapter 11. Not the end of the series, there is a twist in the next chapter. If you are smart you can probably figure it out but I am not going to outright spoil it. Enjoy.

Chapter 12

Ranma exited to find the place in chaos, Gears were stopped in mid-attack and the four fighters who were left where nursing wounds. Potemkin was still injured from earlier but out of all of them he was still the least injured. Ryouga had blood running down his arms and gashes across his chest. He was helping Baiken who was kneeling on the ground using her sword as a support. Ky's hair was matted with blood that could or could not be his own, it was hard to tell. His uniform was ripped to reveal one arm and his shoulder. He was helping to bandage Jam, who had cuts running along her arms and legs. What little clothing the girl did wear to fight in was torn in what many would consider revealing ways. Ky was having a little trouble keeping his mind on his job for this reason.

"Ranma!" Turning at the voice he saw Dizzy run up to him, "you're okay."

The man smiled, "Yes, I'm glad you're fine Dizzy."

Ranma accepted the hug from the girl, "I though that Justice would hurt you for sure."

"We should help the others get inside," Ranma said, "they are in pretty bad shape."

Dizzy nodded, "Yes, I will help to dress their wounds."

With that they walked up to the group and did not notice Sol disappear behind them. When they had helped everyone back inside, everyone started to help tend to wounds. There was little that could be done or the torn uniforms but that was unimportant now. What was important was stopping the blood from flowing any longer than it needed to. Outside the window, white flakes started to float to the ground slowly. It started slowly but soon grew into a full out snow storm as the ground became covered in white. It was a drastic change from what they where used to.

By the time all the wounds had been mended the ground was covered in white. Everyone was spread out, trying to find food to eat after the long time of fighting. As Ranma walked along he found Dizzy stopped by the window and looking out. As he came up behind her she looked at him with wide eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her waist as he looked out of the window with her.

"Is that snow?" the girl asked as she looked at the white with awe.

Ranma nodded, "Yes it is."

Dizzy leaned her head back into him, "It's so beautiful."

The man nodded, "Yes it is. It's hard to believe you haven't seen snow before. I keep forgetting what your true age is. Not that it's a bad thing, you just don't look three."

"There is so much I want to learn," Dizzy said, "maybe then I could understand why people don't like me."

"I know a lot about the world and I still don't fully understand that," the man said without humor, "how they could hate someone with such an innocent heart I cannot understand. Maybe it's for the better, maybe I just don't want to understand."

"Didn't you used to hate Gears though?"

Ranma nodded his head, "Yes, and I'm not sure I don't now, but mindless machines are not the same. If I became a mindless machine when I changed then I would hate myself for what I was. It wouldn't be like I could help it but I would still hate it."

"Hmm, could you help me get to my room?" Dizzy asked suddenly, "I'm feeling a little tired."

"Yeah, I think I could manage that," Ranma picked the girl up and started walking towards where her room was designated.

With the way the building was laid out, it took him a while to find the room. When he did though, he threw open the door and gently set the girl down on the bed. As he disengaged himself from her and went to leave he felt her hand grab his arm. Looking back in surprise she pulled him down and gave him a warm kiss. Breaking the embrace, Ranma went over to the door and closed it, making sure nobody would walk in.

Ryouga had found some food in a little supply depot in the bottom of the Guild headquarters. He was on his way back when he heard something thump from inside one of the rooms they had chosen for sleeping. For a second he was worried that something might be wrong but when he heard a familiar voice yelling something incomprehensible he smile and continued walking. There was not point in interrupting them for something trivial.

As he made his way farther down the hall he saw Baiken staring with a hard look out the window. She looked to be contemplating something as he walked up to her. Putting the food on the ground, Ryouga cleared his throat, when he got no response he tried it again a little louder. When he still got no response he went up to her and started to wave his hand back and forth in front of her face. It was at this point that he found his hand held firmly in place by the woman's hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" Baiken asked.

"You were not responding to my calls," Ryouga answered as he freed himself from her grip, "I thought you were daydreaming."

"I don't daydream," Baiken growled, "I was just thinking about something."

Ryouga grinned, "So you were daydreaming in other words."

The woman growled, "Shut up! What do you know? You're just some punk that somehow survived though the Gear war."

"Punk?" Ryouga said with a perplexed look, "I don't know if that is exactly the right word. Honor is very important to both Ranma and me, and there is nothing in our life that does not reflect that."

Baiken said nothing in reply to his statement, just turned and walked away. Ryouga followed her along the corridor as she tried to increase the distance between him and her. Finally she turned on him in irritation and pointed a finger in his chest.

Baiken grit her teeth, "Just leave me alone! I don't feel like talking."

"You cannot get away from me," Ryouga replied.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him, "You want to fight me?"

Ryouga blinked, "I only want to find out what's wrong. You're always so distant, I'm not stupid, I can see something is troubling you."

"Bah, you don't know anything," The woman said, "I'm going to have a drink."

"Whatever," Ryouga said with a shrug, "you have fun being alone and unhappy."

"Just shut up," Baiken said in a sour tone as she walked away from him.

Ryouga finally finished his rounds at the place in the building that had been designated the kitchen. It was more of a galley than a kitchen, but either way it provided a great place to eat. All the food before they had hunted themselves, but now they had a huge stockpile waiting for them. This food was useful because it was hard to hunt things when it was snowing outside.

As Ryouga walked into the kitchen he found Ky and Potemkin already enjoying some of the food that Jam had cooked. Ryouga sat down at the table and was soon enjoying some food of his own. When he was done he walked back to the room he was staying in. On his way back he found Baiken leaned over on a table with a bottle of sake (pronounced Sah Keh) in her hands. Sighing he walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder to try to wake her up. She mumbled something and shifted slightly, so he tried it again and she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head off the table.

"Baiken, just a suggestion," Ryouga said as he crossed his arms, "but maybe you should go to bed."

The woman yawned and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"See you in the morning," Ryouga said neutrally as she walked off.

"Whatever," the woman replied.

Ryouga frowned, "Yeah, whatever, why do I even try? I'm going to bed."

The man walked off to his room, passing Ranma and Dizzy's room on the way to his. It was now silent, and the hall was dark, with a sigh he opened the door to his dark room and went to sleep. In Dizzy's room, Ranma was laying awake as the girl's head rested on his chest. He was idly running his hands through her soft hair as he stared at the ceiling. Usually when this happened he was thinking about something important that had happened in his life. Right now he was just trying to get over what had just happened. It was a spur of the moment type of thing, but the feelings the two of them had shared was amazing.

The girl shifted and he looked down with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her and let his eyes close. It was the first time in a while that he had been able to fall asleep without seeing the horror of his past life. The two of them slept the whole night without moving from their position. When Ranma woke the next morning he detached himself from the girl quietly and walked out of the room, throwing a shirt on as he did so. He had found different clothes to replace the tank top when the assassins had run off. He now wore a black Chinese style shirt with rolled up sleeves that were white on the inside. It gave him the look of an ancient Chinese master except for the fact that he was so young.

Opening the doors to the Guild headquarters he took a breath and relished the fresh air. Ranma walked out into the snow and started to go through a practice form that was easy for him. To the casual viewer it looked incredibly tough, all the flowing and movement changes would have been hard for an average martial artist. For more competent martial artists, forms like this one were just a warm up. As he went longer he flowed seamlessly into another form that was considerably harder. This form involved a lot of mid air twists and landing at peculiar angles. As he moved through the snow he left tracks where he stepped, creating a pattern in the snow. Not anything coherent but it was a pattern of steps nonetheless. This pattern would boggle the mind of those looking at it for the simple fact that footsteps seemed to run over one another at angles that should not exist.

As Ranma finished the form he stood straight, clasping his hands in front of him, and bowed. As he turned to walk back he felt something at the corner of his mind, like someone was watching him. Looking back towards the forest he saw something he thought impossible. Justice was standing at the edge of the for rest, not a remade one, the same one that he had fought before. There were no other Gears with him, but Ranma knew that he did not need any other Gears around. Justice could fight by himself, the man had experienced this first hand.

Without warning, the Gear suddenly appeared in front of him with a shriek and Ranma was immediately forced on the defensive. The Gear seemed intent on not allowing the man to change forms by how offensive he was. Ranma was doing a good job of defending himself but he knew it could not last forever. The snow was hindering his movement and the practice right before was doing nothing to help his energy. Then Ranma made a fatal mistake, he forgot about the Gears lethal tail, with a gasp of surprise he let himself impaled on the appendage.

Ranma slowly looked down at the Gear's tail with anger, that had been stupid to forget about on his part. Grabbing the appendage, he pulled it out with a sickening sound. The stab had missed any real vital point but with a hole as bit as it was, there was no need to hit something vital. As he collapsed to the ground a vision flashed in his mind of that first day he had seen the Gear. The burning hellfire that Japan had been turned into came to his mind with clarity. It was the same scene as before, him being stabbed and Justice standing tall. With a yell, Ranma made one last effort to kill the machine but passed out from blood loss. That was then, he could not let it happen like that again.

"Damn you," Ranma said as he collapsed to one knee and put his left hand over his wound, "I will not let you get away with this."

Raising his right hand, a small white light grew in the palm of his hand. The energy grew larger and larger until it was the size of the Gear itself. Justice did not move the slightest, he seemed confident that Ranma would not get the move off. With a growl, Ranma summoned his Gear form to add more energy to the move. It was then that Justice reacted, surprised that the man could even summon the form. The man did not give Justice enough time to teleport away though. With a loud cry he let the dragon energy cannon fly from his hands. There was a flash as Justice was caught in it and when the flash was gone Justice had been cut in half.

With a few heavy breaths, Ranma summoned another beam of energy and finished the job. Having seen the Gears destruction with his own eyes, Ranma closed his eyes with one last breath and started to fall forward. His ears were ringing and his vision was going black, but before it did he saw a single white feather float in front of his eyes. The vision of a blue haired half Gear flashed through his mind and he silently apologized to this girl. Then he fell into unconsciousness as crimson blood spread from his body, and he changed back to his human form.

End of Chapter 12. End of Book 4. End of Story. I know this was evil, but there is an addendum. Hint: Read the prologue.

Chapter 13 (Prologue)

"Hinata," a female voice yelled out, "time for dinner."

The little girl, about four five year old, with a long white dress and red and blue hair turned towards the voice. She was torn between whether to run towards the voice or stay with the strange man she had just met. Luckily the man seemed to sense her hesitation and with a smile he told her to go to the woman who called her.

As the girl approached her mother she looked up into her mothers eyes, "What were you doing out there Hinata? You know how worried I get when you wonder that far away."

The little girl nodded, "I know, but I was playing and I was in trouble and this man helped me. He was a really nice man, he said he knew you."

The woman smiled, "I'm sure he was nice, now let's go eat."

"He said he really wanted to meet you," the little girl said.

With a sigh the woman nodded, "Well I guess it would be all right, but you need to go eat young woman."

The girl looked slightly saddened, "Yes mother."

"Don't give me that, you haven't eaten all day," the woman said, "now go inside and eat."

Once the girl was inside, the woman walked off in the direction the little girl had come from. As she walked she caught the sight of a man in a dirty brown cloak with dark long hair. He was knelt down on the ground and seemed to be studying something that was laying there. As the woman moved closer, the man stood and looked at the sky, holding a scarred arm up to look "at something in the light of the sun. On his arms were bracers that fit so tightly around that it looked like part of the arm.

"So what is this about," the woman said.

The man did not turn around but he did drop his hand and the object he was looking at, "Quiet a way to talk to an old acquaintance."

The woman crossed her arms over his chest and look at the man with little patients, "I can't even tell if I've met you with your back to me like that."

The man chuckled, "I guess that's true, makes it hard to see who I am, well here you go then," the man turned to the woman and she froze in shock, "surprise, Dizzy."

"R, Ranma?" the girl had gone almost numb with shock, "how?."

The man developed a serious look, "I really could not let you live alone. The thought of you being sad prevented me from dying, you guys just buried me a little soon. When I awoke in the dark I didn't know what to think at first, I wasn't even sure I was alive."

The blue haired woman looked down at the ground, "All that time you were alive. I thought you were dead, but no matter how hard I tried I could not get over you."

Ranma walked forward and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear, "It took so long for me to find you. I was so worried that even when I did find you, my chance would already be gone."

The girl leaned forward and put her head in his chest, "I've missed you so much."

"Who's little girl is that?" the man asked.

Dizzy looked up, "That is my little girl, or maybe I should say our little girl. I gave her a name that would help me remember you, not really in the meaning but in the nation the name came from."

"Hinata," Ranma said, "it's a nice name. I wish I was here for her birth. She must be about five, right?"

Dizzy nodded, "Yes, where you what was keeping her earlier?"

The man laughed, "Sorry about that, she is such a sweet little girl. She reminds me of you."

"I think she gets in just as much trouble as you though," Dizzy said with a grin before she became serious, "would you like to come inside and have something to eat."

"Yes, I am pretty hungry," Ranma said before reaching in his pocket for something, "This was the last thing I saw before I passed out you know."

Dizzy looked at the white feather in Ranma's hand with wide eyes, "That's... one of my feathers, I saw you fall and ran up to you, but you fell to the ground before I could do anything. There was so much blood and I was so scared."

"This kept me alive, I have thought of nothing but you these past five years," Ranma said as they walked back to the house, "every time I felt like giving up I just had to reach into my pocket to find hope. You always helped me be strong through the worst situations Dizzy."

The woman opened the door to her house, "You always had a way of making me feel safe. I'll be right back, hold on."

The woman walked off, leaving Ranma to stand in the entrance to the house. When she came back, Dizzy took his cloak from him, revealing the evidence of his hardships over the past five years. He had become even more tone than before and multiple scars ran across his body, some disappearing under his black t-shirt. The view almost brought tears to the woman's eyes as she looked at the old cuts that had failed to heal quickly enough.

"Did you get those from trying to find me?" Dizzy asked quietly.

Ranma looked down at the scars as if he forgot they were there, "You could say that, people get very defensive when you ask about a Gear that's supposed to be dead. It's okay though, they did not hurt badly enough that you should worry about them."

The woman nodded but did not seem to be happy, "How careless, why do you have to put yourself in such danger?"

"Because nothing is more important to me than making sure I see your face one last time," Ryouga said as he grasp her shoulders, "please don't let the scars get to you, I like it when you smile."

Dizzy looked surprise at his admission, "You never told me that before."

"I never had time to," Ranma replied, "we had better eat, we can catch up while we have some food."

The woman nodded and led him into the dinning room where Hinata was still eating her food. The red and blue haired girl looked up and smiled at the man as he walked into the room. Then she stared wide eyed as she saw the battle scars on the man's body.

"Wow, you must be tough," the girl said, "you have a lot of scars."

"Hinata, don't be rude," Dizzy said to the girl, "it's not nice to point things like that out."

"But mom, it's so cool," the girl said with excitement.

Ranma laughed, "It's okay Dizzy, I don't mind."

As the man sat down, Dizzy brought him a plate of food, "I hope you like it. We didn't have much to cook with, oh, that reminds me, Johnny is dropping by a little later."

Ranma looked up in surprise, "You mean the pirate Johnny? How is he doing anyway?"

"Uncle Johnny is a pirate," the girl asked, "wow, I knew he was cool but that makes him even more cool."

"Uncle?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow, Dizzy just sighed developed a look that said not to ask her about it.

"Are you done Hinata? I have a surprise for you when you finish," Dizzy said to the little girl.

The little girl nodded, "Yes mom, I finished. What's the secret?"

"Well, you know how I told you that your father died before you were born?" Dizzy asked as she sat down, "It seems that he actually lived and I was unaware of it. Hinata, I would like you to meet your father, Ranma Saotome."

The little girl stared at the man for a second, seemingly in shock, "You? Wow, I never knew my father was so cool. Does this mean you can stop being sad about him being gone, mom?"

Laughing, Dizzy hugged the girl, yes it does, Hinata. Now go give your daddy a hug."

The girl walked over to him, and Ranma picked her up and held her in his arms, "Wow, now that I look at you, you do look a lot like both of us. How are you Hinata?"

"I'm fine," the little girl answered, "I hope you can calm mommy down, she gets so worried sometimes."

Ranma looked at Dizzy as the woman turned red, "Really now, well I will certainly work on it."

Ranma put the girl down and proceeded to eat as his stomach made it clear that he was very hungry. As he took a bite of the food, his mouth lit up with the flavor and he began to eat ravenously. As he finished and wiped his mouth, he looked up to see his daughter looking at him with wide eyes.

"Wow, you're more messy then me," the girl said.

Dizzy covered her mouth as she laughed, "Sorry, it's just that it's true."

Shrugging, Ranma sighed, "Well, at least it was very good. I'm glad I came back, now come her the two of you."

Ranma picked Hinata up in his arms and wrapped Dizzy in his free arm. With a smile, Ranma realized that he had found the joy he had been missing in his life right then. And with that embrace, his journey for peace finally ended with the two most important things in his life in his arms.

End of Chapter 13. End of Prologue. Real End of the Story. I hope you liked this, I'm thinking of having either a side story or a spin off in the future, though the spin off would be hard considering most of the things that could happen have already happened. I will think about it during my hiatus anyway. Until the next time, hope you keep writing and/or reading.


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